Still Waters
by 2shy the Shippy
Summary: Takes place in the universe of 'Like Two Branches in A River'. Version 2. After being sent away to camp Wholistic Core, she meets a boy named Gendry Waters who understands her in a way that no one else ever had. One small thing changes everything, okay, well two. Arya stays at Wholistic Core a little longer, and nothing is the same. If you've read the 1st one, skip to ch. 4.
1. Past and Pending

Disclaimer: Don't own it, so don't sue me.

A masculine voice yelled out a play as the players got into place and waited for the ball to be hiked. They began to move around in organized chaos as one team tried to help their player score a touch down and the other tried to prevent it with a tackle. There was a mixture of playfulness and seriousness in the air as the game took place. It was obvious that only very few knew what they were doing which made Arya cringe. There was bad, and then there was shouldn't be playing at all.

Intently, Arya watched the pick up game from the sidelines and found that she enjoyed it despite most of the players lacking a basic understanding of football. As if it was second nature, she mouthed the plays that were being run and corrected the mistakes while she watched. Her brother Bran looked to have potential, but he seemed to overthink and second-guess himself. Jon and Robb moved around the field with confidence and their presence commanded attention. In addition to their speed and strength, they were incredibly intelligence and thought quickly on their feet.

Behind Arya, Sansa and her friends spoke about boys, clothes, and gossiped about their peers. Occasionally, there would be uproar of laughter before a series of soft whispers. Of course, it was all to get the boys attention because, apart from Arya, none of the girls there were interested in watching the football game. They were only there to be seen. Personally, Arya could have cared less for boys. She thought that they were entitled, sexist idiots. The only thing she envied about them was their endless freedom and they weren't scrutinized as much as girls.

After the game ended, Arya walked over to her brothers and watched the older two teach Bran the proper throwing technique. Bran tried to mimic his brothers, but kept failing miserably every time he threw the ball. No matter how much Bran tried to follow their directions, he repeatedly missed his target. Arya laughed to herself and shook her head.

She grabbed a stray ball off of the ground, placed her fingers in the correct position on the ball, squared her shoulders, and threw the ball. The ball hit the target dead in its center as she mischievously grinned before looking at Bran, and then walking back to the bleachers. Bran audibly groaned.

"I'm never going to get this," he complained as he dropped the ball to the ground.

Jon picked up the ball and handed it to Bran. "Yes, you are," he assured. Jon then tried to show Bran the proper technique again while he used himself as an example.

Melancholy crept in Arya's heart as she watched her brother's interact. It was times like these that reminded her how much of an outsider she was in her family. Arya was 100% positive that her family loved her, but they didn't know how to respond to her. She acted too much like a boy for her mother and Sansa to understand her and Arya would always be a girl in the mind of her brothers-they couldn't treat her like one of them guys. Arya was in a lose-lose. Her father was the most understanding, but even then, there were times where her behavior baffled him as well.

When Arya was younger, she used to ask if she could play football with the guys. Her brothers wouldn't mind playing with her, but the other boys had refused because she was a girl. Robb and Jon explained to her that the boys were afraid to hurt her since girls weren't as strong as guys, but Arya knew better: they were afraid of being beaten and embarrassed by a girl. They didn't mind teasing girls and making fun of them, but they sure as hell hated to lose to them. Despite her brothers playing football with her, it was also apparent that they had reservations about her playing as well. Although Arya disagreed with their sexist mindset, she knew that her brothers were the only ones with her best interests at heart. It still didn't make it any less infuriating that they tried to coddle her because she was a girl, but at least, they did it for what they believed to be the right reasons.

Over time, Arya found herself annoyed with her family's treatment of her. They believed that her behavior and interests weren't appropriate because it didn't fit the restrictive gender roles of what a female was supposed to be. She didn't understand it. They all spoke about how they wanted the best for her and for her to be happy, but they continuously questioned the things that made her happy, which led to her feeling bad about having interest in those things. Although she pretended not to care at times, she really did. She wanted her family to accept her for who she was like they did with the other siblings.

A recognizable laugh permeated the air and Arya searched for the person it belonged to. In no time, she found Sansa laughing at one of her thousands of admirers before coyly smiling. As the boy handed her a flower, she wildly blushed. Inwardly, Arya gagged and felt slightly sorry for the guy. Sansa wouldn't be Sansa if she didn't eat up that lovey dovey I-got-a-crush-on-you shit up, but, ultimately, Arya knew better: her sister wouldn't date this guy. Oh, he was sweet and charming, but he lack confidence—swagger. Sansa seemed to enjoy being around guys who demanded attention and this guy wasn't that type of person.

Sansa was beautiful, smart, funny, and bubbly. Of course, guys were drawn to her like the flame her hair resembled. And, of course, they were going to get burned.

Her older sister didn't understand why Arya didn't behave like most girls. It was obvious that the two sisters were as different as night and day. For a while, Arya could see unspoken questions swirling in Sansa's eyes, but she remained silent. Arya supposed that Sansa thought either she would eventually understand her younger sister or that Arya would grow out of her behavior. But, Sansa never did understand and Arya never grew out of her behavior. One day, Sansa finally voiced her thoughts:

 _Sansa looked in the mirror as she carefully applied her lip-gloss. When she when she rubbed her lips together as she slowly twisted the top on the small tube before placing it in her purse. Noises from Arya's portable game filled the car when Sansa finally asked, "Do you want to be a boy?" She stared straight ahead._

 _Arya continued to play her game before momentarily giving Sansa an unbelieving look._

" _No," the younger girl denied. "God, you're so stupid."_

 _Sansa gasped as she immediately whipped her head around._

" _I am not stupid—don't call me that," Sansa cried._

" _Then don't ask stupid questions." Arya glared at her game. She refused to look at Sansa because she didn't want her sister to see how much her question had hurt her._

 _Sansa's concern for her sister stemmed from the fact that she believed guys weren't interested in Arya because she dressed and acted like a boy. Besides not having any interest in girly things (or wearing them), Arya wasn't pretty anyways. She didn't have Sansa's natural beauty or guys drooling over her. There was a reason she was called Arya horse face and Arya underfoot. Even if she did dress up, it wouldn't change the fact that she was ugly. What was the point in trying to look nice if people didn't think you were nice to look at in the first place. Arya rather be unnoticed than the object of some guy's attention, which was not going to happen anyways._

" _What do you expect me to think," Sansa began. "You wear boys clothes, act like a boy, and show no interest in boys."_

" _So, your logical conclusion is that I want to be a boy and like girls—you think I am a lesbian?" Arya's tone was mocking and laced with condescension to which Sansa ignored._

" _I don't know," Sansa shrugged. "I just want to understand you. We've never really seen eye to eye on many things. Your behavior confuses me and you could care less for my girly-ness."_

 _Arya bit her lip and glanced at her sister. "Sansa, I am a tomboy. That just means I like the same things as boy not that I want to be one or that I like girls. I don't want to be a boy and I don't like girls._

 _Softly, Sansa asked, "Is there a guy you have a crush on?"_

 _It was clear that Sansa was trying to find a way to bond with Arya, but she was done with this conversation. Arya thought that if Sansa really wanted to bond with her, she would ask her what her interest were. But, Sansa didn't work that way. She tried to make things fit into her understanding of the world. It was either this or that. There was never any middle ground with her._

" _No," Arya answered sternly. The tone of her voice indicated that the conversation was over."_

There were a few more attempts on Sansa's behalf to figure out her younger sister, but they were all disasters as well. The more time passed, the more apparent it became that Sansa may not ever comprehend who her sister was. But, Arya no longer cared.

When the Stark kids arrived home, Arya went to her room and played online games. She had cleared a few more levels and was working on a game high in points when someone knocked on her door.

"What," she yelled without looking from her screen.

"It's Jon," her brother yelled through the door.

"Go away," she responded as she continued to play her game.

Jon jiggled her handled and discovered that it was locked.

"Don't be like this, Arya," Jon said quietly.

"I wouldn't be if you hadn't signed up for the fucking army," Arya pounded on her computer keys.

"Arya, watch your language," the admonished girl rolled her eyes as she scored a game high. "I just want to talk to you."

"Funny, you had all the time in the world to talk to me after you signed up for the army, but you waited until the day before you were leaving to tell me." Jon had announced that he was leaving for the army on their way back home. He had spoke to their father about it, but remained tight-lipped about his new career from the rest of his family.

Despite her better judgment, she opened the door.

"Hell, Robb got an internship at dad's job and he can't shut up about it," her eyes were teary and forlorn. "But, you got a job where you could lose your life at any second and didn't tell anyone, but dad about it."

Jon pulled her into his arms and gave her a tight hug.

"I'm sorry," he wiped his sister's eyes, and then placed a kiss on her forehead. "I was afraid of how you guys were going to take it."

"It doesn't matter, you should have said something sooner."

"I know," he admitted. Jon picked his up from the floor, and then opened it. He pulled out an autographed football. "Courtesy of the Winterfell Direwolves."

"Seriously," Arya gasped.

"Seriously," Jon repeated as Arya threw herself back in his arms. She then took the ball from his hands and stared at it in pure amazement.

"Don't think this means that I've forgiven you." Arya read all of the names on the ball and she tenderly held her new gift.

Jon smiled tightly. "I don't." He gave her another hug. "I wish I could stay longer, but I have to go, kiddo."

Arya bit her lip and looked down as hugged her ball. "I know."

Gently, Jon placed a hand on Arya's chin and made her look at him.

"Everything's going to be alright, Arya," he reassured.

"No, it isn't," she said plainly before going to lie on her bed. Jon left Arya to her solitude.

The next day, Arya slept in until the afternoon.

She went into the kitchen and fixed herself a bowl of cereal.

"Welcome to the land of the living," her mother quipped as she brought a cup of coffee to her lips.

Her mother hated when Arya woke up late. Catelyn believed in making use of every minute in your day—this explained one of the reasons why Sansa was her favorite. Arya just wanted to be young. She wanted to have fun, get dirty, and sleep in late. But, mostly, she was still upset about Jon leaving.

Arya rolled her eyes and began to eat her cereal.

"I know you are upset about Jon leaving; we all are, but you'll see him again." Catelyn gave a stiff smile to her daughter as a way of reassurance.

"Mom, don't," Arya began. "It's not as if you liked Jon when he was here, so don't try to pretend you did to make me feel better."

"Arya, sweetie, you don't understand," her mother defended as she reached for her youngest daughter hand. Arya quickly snatched it away before her mother could touch her.

"You're right: I don't." The two sat in silence for a moment. "But, you were the one who made him join the army."

" I did not make Jon join—"

"Yes, you did," Arya interrupted. "If you hadn't acted like a bitch to him his whole life, he wouldn't have left."

"Arya!" Anger filled Catelyn's eyes as she barely kept her temper in check. "You go to your room right. I refuse to be spoken to in such a disrespectful tone. I don't know who you got your bad manners from."

Arya didn't move as she looked at her mother. "Well, I learned from the best," she gave her mother a pointed look.

Catelyn slammed a fist on the table, and then pointed to the door that led to the stairs. "GO TO YOUR ROOM NOW!"

For the rest of the afternoon, she stayed in her room uninterrupted. Although she knew her mother told her siblings not to bother her, she locked her door just in case and played her music loudly. Her time was spent between reading books, sports magazines, buying new music, and playing online games.

Most of the time, she played online games though. She and Mycah made sure to find teams that weren't crowded, so both of them could join. Mycah wasn't as good as she was, but he was fun to play with, which was all that mattered to Arya. He was better at cooking and enjoyed reading, but only played games and sports because Arya liked them. That's what best friends did. When he wanted someone to help him cook (while his parents monitored them) or try out the food, Arya offered her assistance.

Mycah was the only one who didn't judge her and accepted her for who she was. He didn't care that she was better than him in most things and offered his help whenever she needed.

"Hey, Mycah, can you come over tomorrow," Arya asked in her mic while she shot an opponent.

"Sure," he agreed without hesitation. "For what?"

"To play some football." There was a knock on her door. "I have to go; I'll see you tomorrow."

"All right, bye," Mycah said before hanging up.

Arya put her computer on sleep and cut off her music before going to the door. She opened the door expecting to see her mother, but instead, her father stood on the other side.

"Dad," Arya said in surprise.

"Mind if I come in?" Ned's arms were folded across his chest as he raised an eyebrow. Even though his statement was phrased as a question, Arya knew that he only asked as a courtesy.

The young girl opened her door completely to let her father in. Ned followed Arya into her room as she picked up a stationary chair for her father to sit in and she took the one with wheels. The chairs were placed to face one another and the two sat down.

Father and daughter sat in silence for a moment as Ned collected his thoughts. Both he and Catelyn were reserved people, but Arya voiced her thoughts on a daily basis, damn the consequences. Every since Arya was a little girl, she had always been passionate and said what was on her mind when she deemed necessary. She had an even hard time censoring her mouth the issue was incredibly important to her. As proud as he was of Arya, he had no idea where her passion came from or her outspoken nature. She was the wildcard of the family for sure.

Although he would never admit it aloud, Arya was his favorite. Ned loved all of his kids and would do anything for them, but he connected to his youngest daughter in a way that he hadn't connected to his other kids. Despite her loner nature, he could see that she wished to be understood and did want friends, but she refused to compromise who she was to become someone she was not. It was something that drew Arya to Jon over the years. The two of them were looking for a place where they belong—where they made sense.

"Arya, I understand that you were upset about Jon leaving, but that does not give you the permission to disrespect your mother even if you believe Jon left because of her," Ned began. Arya's expression was ambivalent, which wasn't surprising considering her nature. She did feel sorry for calling her mom a bitch, but at the same time, she felt her mother mistreated Jon for far too long. "She is still your mom and you have to respect her even if you don't want to."

"Respect her," Arya scoffed. "She doesn't even respect Jon. She always makes him feel like an outsider even though he has lived with us ever since he was born—before I was born. Don't you all always say 'treat others how you want to be treated?' "

Ned inwardly groaned. Of all of their children, Arya loved using their words against them the most. If you say 'do as I say and not as I do', she'll respond with 'but you also say that actions speaks louder than words.' She knew how to argue her case and simultaneously frustrate you with her non-stop persistence. If she ever did get married, it would take a man who knew how to go head to head with his daughter.

"I know, Arya, but having Jon around is difficult for your mom, so I wish you could be more understanding," he explained in a soft tone.

Arya crossed her legs, and then her arms. "But, why is she mad at him, you were the one who cheated. Jon didn't ask to be created, so why should he suffer the consequences?"

A regretful expression crossed Ned's face. "I'll admit, what I put your mother through was wrong and even her treatment of Jon is wrong, but I expect more of you." He placed a hand on Arya's shoulder. "You are an incredibly bright young girl and more mature than most 13 years olds your age, despite your outspoken nature, but you need to treat your mother better and I am not referring to just yesterday. I know you love her, so start showing her. And as right as you may be about what I did, Arya, you are not the parent, but the child. I do not have to discuss or explain my actions to you."

Ned stood up and opened his arms for a hug.

Arya tightly wrapped her arms around her father. "What is my punishment?"

"The is the first and last time I'll let what you did slide, but next time I won't be so understanding, okay?" Arya shook her head in agreement before her father placed a kiss on her head. "Tomorrow, my boss and his family will be having dinner with us, so make sure to be home a little early to wash up and put on some nice clothes."

"Okay," Arya said softly.

The following day, Arya got up early and ate breakfast with her family. Quietly, she ate her food as she listened to the chatter around the table. Sansa asked Robb about his internship and Bran and Rickon were discussing an anime cartoon. Her parents were having a conversation about Robert Baratheon, her dad's boss.

"Are you sure you have no clue why he is coming by to see you?" It was odd to Catelyn that Robert would not just visist Ned, but have dinner with him as well. He was the kind of man who enjoyed going out for drinks and eating dinners at fancy restaurants.

"Cat, you never know with Robert. He could just want to come by for dinner with his family or it could be something else," Ned shrugged and stuffed some eggs in his mouth. "You seem to think I know what is going on in Robert's head."

"Well, you two were close friends once upon a time," Catelyn took Ned's plate and put some more food on it, and then sat it back down in front of him.

"Once upon a time," he stressed. "The last time we really had a good talk was when Robb was an infant. Every since then, we've both been busy living our lives and running businesses—we just became too busy for one another."

The conversation then transitioned onto another topic as Arya picked at her food.

Mycah had to cancel on her because his grandparents were in town for the day, so Arya went to the park with Rickon. She read a book as he played on the slide and monkey bars. Once Rickon started to pester her about playing with him, they took started to race on the swings to see who could go the highest or they jumped off to see who could go the furthest. After that, they took turns spinning each other around on the tire swing to see who could get the dizziest.

After they left the park, Arya bought the both of them ice cream they decided to wander around the neighborhood. Eventually, they ended up back and home and decided to go swimming in the lake in their backyard. They could only swim for an hour before they had to get dressed for their guest.

"Arya, do you mind wearing this for tonight," Caelyn asked as she handed her daughter a dress. Her daughter took the dress without complaint and looked at it.

"Okay," she agreed. As Arya was walking away, she hesitated. "I'm sorry for calling you—you know…that." Regret colored Arya's face even though she did not agree with her mother's treatment of Jon.

"I don't appreciate being called such a foul word," Catelyn clasped her hands together in front of her body. "But, apology accepted."

Arya gave her mom a small smile.

"Did Sansa do your hair?"

"Yes," Arya touched her hair insecurely.

Catelyn tucked a strand of hair behind her daughter's ear. "It looks nice…you're going to look great tonight."

The young girl stared at her mother blankly and said nothing.

Dinner turned out to be a disaster or, at least, for Arya it was. She hated the Baratheons. She hated Robert Baratheon, Cersei Baratheon, and especially Joffrey Baratheon. The younger two kids were all right, but the others were just the worst. Robert was a drunk who kept looking at her because she looked like her deceased aunt Lyanna, which made her feel uncomfortable. Cersei looked down upon them because she was a stuck up rich bitch. And Joffrey was a snide jackass who thought that he was better than them.

To add another cherry on top: the Baratheons were spending the night in their guesthouse.

Mrs. Baratheon didn't think the hotels were good enough for their family to stay in and the Starks guesthouse as "just" a step above the hotel. If she had her way, they would have left that same exact night.

Arya just didn't have the energy to argue with her parents over something she knew she couldn't prevent. She was still upset about Jon leaving and on thin ice with her parents with the whole "bitch" fiasco. They may have not punished her, but she didn't want to push any more buttons. So, she went straight to her room and went to bed. You can't get in trouble if you are sleep.

Mycah arrived to her house around ten in the morning. Arya had texted him to come by and see Nymeria, who had just gotten out of the hospital. She had been hit by a car and severely injured. Her best friend adored her wolf and was upset that Nymeria had gotten hurt. Despite the severity of the injuries, Nymeria had made a full recovery and they two teens sat around her and talked for a while.

Two in the afternoon, the two finally started playing football in the backyard. Arya outplayed Mycah, as usual, and he didn't care, as usual. Despite being bad at sports, Mycah actually did try, which Arya liked. At least, he tried to make it fun for her.

When Mycah playfully tackled her was when everything turned to shit.

Arya paced her room back and forth with her hands balled into fists. She was absolutely fuming.

After Mycah tackled her, Joffrey had come over to them acting like tough shit, especially since he had been trying to impress Sansa. Mycah and Arya tried to explain to the Baratheon boy that they had been playing around, but Joffrey tried to fight Mycah for "picking" on a girl. After it was clear that Mycah had no clue how to fight and was at a clear disadvantage, she stood up for him and punched Joffrey in the eye.

Joffrey pretended to be some innocence bystander and Sansa kept her mouth shut about the whole ordeal, which resulted in Mycah's father getting fired from Baratheon corporations since he didn't know how to control his kid. Arya was put on punishment for the rest of the summer to appease Robert.

Her father knocked on her door as he opened it.

"Can you please leave, dad," Arya requested of her father.

"I know you are upset, sweetheart, but what was I supposed to do," Ned genuinely asked. "I believe you, but that's my boss."

"And I am your daughter!" Arya yelled as tears formed in her eyes. "You're supposed to take my side."

Ned was upset by his daughter's state of distress.

"Arya, life isn't that simple. I made the best decision possible in the situation I was put in. I know you hate my decision, but I am the one who had to make it. Do you think it was easy for me? But, I had to. Being adult means making the hard decisions even when it pains you to do so."

"Even if the hard decisions are overkill," Arya sarcastically asked. She was not upset at the fact that she got punished, but the severity of her punishment and Mycah's father being fired.

"Sometimes we have to make extreme decisions in order to maintain the peace." As smart as Arya was, Ned could see that she had a lot of learning to do. Life wasn't about what you wanted or thought was right and fair—it is harsh and is about compromise.

"Or maybe you decided to quickly."

"Maybe," he agreed to placate her, but she didn't know Robert like he did. Suddenly he announced, "Mr. Baratheon needs me in King's Landing."

"What?" Arya snapped her head to look at her father. "You're leaving us?"

Ned looked to the floor. "We're leaving to go to King's Landing." By the tone of his voice, it was apparent that there wasn't any room for compromise. "Based on my discussion with Robert, it seems as if I am going to be there a while and I don't want to be without you, your mother, and siblings. Whether or not you like my decision, I am not splitting our family up."

With that, Ned left Arya to her own thoughts.

"Winter is coming," she mumbled to no one in particular.


	2. Puddle of Mudd

Arya gently caressed Nymeria's hair as she solemnly stared at her direwolf. She tried to push the huge wolf away, but the animal wouldn't budge.

"Nymeria, go," she commanded and tried to force Nymeria to walk away, but the animal held its position. Nymeria then nuzzled Arya for a moment before lapping her owner's face with her huge tongue. Arya hugged her beloved direwolf as she rested her face in Nymeria's warm, soft fur.

The direwolf then walked backwards and stopped. She stared at Arya for a moment before turning around and walking to Mycah.

"I promise I'll take good care of her." Arya had to leave Nymeria with Mycah because she couldn't bring her to King's Landing. The Baratheons had a strict no pets' policy. Another reason to hate them. Her family wasn't even staying in their house—it was the guesthouse. She didn't understand why she couldn't bring Nymeria.

"Thanks, Mycah." The boy walked over to Arya and gave her a big hug. Although the Stark girl wasn't big on hugs, she received it anyways.

It wasn't just Nymeria—it was everything. It was Jon leaving without a proper heads up, Mycah's dad losing his job, her bullshit punishment, and being even more of a fucking outcast than she already was. For a fact, Arya knew that King's Landing was going to be worse than Winterfell as far as making friends went.

Her dad thought that moving to King's Landing would be a good opportunity for her to expand her horizons and meet new people, but he couldn't be anymore wrong if he tried. Parents only said shit like that to make their kids feel better about moving, but Arya wasn't naïve. Kids are kids no matter where you move. You either conform or they attack and ridicule you. The different were shunned and the conformists were embraced.

"Promise to call," Mycah gave her a small smile and Arya nodded.

After settling into their new home at King's Landing, Ned and Catelyn planned a family day to go tour the city. The city was nice, but Arya found it hard to be excited about the move or the new city. She didn't want to go out and meet new people. She didn't want a fresh start or a new chapter. Arya wanted her old life back. Things may have not changed all that much now, but they were going to and she knew it was going to be hell.

Once the sight seeing was over, Arya didn't leave her room except to eat meals with her family.

Arya started to read more books and joined sites that suggested books and online forums to discuss them as well. The books ranged from atrocious to phenomenal. Although she was an exceptional reader and could read levels about her grade, some of them were difficult for her, which was why she joined the forums. There were other books that were downright terrible and shouldn't have been published, let alone written in the first place.

"Do they even have a criteria anymore in order to get published," Arya mumbled to herself.

Without fail, she called Mycah everyday and they played online games and discussed music. Mycah was really into music and listened to everything. He would suggest a lot of unknown artists, songs, and records because he knew she would like it. Over time, Arya knew not to doubt him. Even if she didn't initially like the song, she eventually found herself enjoying it.

Other times, he did recommend well known artist and they would have discussions about what were the merits of a great song or artist. Arya may have not been as fanatical as Mycah, but she was no slouch when it came to music. Her music collection was broad even without Mycah's help and she knew her shit as well.

There were days she was completely engrossed with her online games and did nothing else.

Her parents had had enough of Arya shutting herself off to the world.

"Why do I have to go to this stupid dinner party," Arya complained.

"Because being in your room all of the time is unhealthy." Catelyn rinsed the plate as she spoke to her daughter. The older woman supposed that she was so critical of Arya because she saw some of herself in her. Arya was stubborn, rash, and opinionated—like Catelyn was when she was a girl. Of course, she was not as wild as Arya, but there were days that Catelyn saw who she used to be in her youngest girl.

Before she had met Brandon.

"But, I am on punishment, remember, mom?" Arya put on her best poker face. "I shouldn't be allowed to enjoy myself—even a little bit,"

Catelyn grinned at her daughter. "Yes, I know you are on punishment, but you have been in your room for far room long and there is more to life than those four walls."

"That stupid ass dinner party isn't one of them." Her mother gasped in offense before mock glaring at Arya. She was trying to get in trouble in order to escape the party.

"Well, since you are all about having adequate punishment, you're going to the party." Arya made a noise in disapproval.

"But, mom," she whined.

"But, mom, what?" Catelyn dared her to speak. "Your punishment is hardly a punishment. You can't complain about it, and then use it against your father and I for your benefit. How is staying in your room when you don't want to go outside in the first place and doing whatever you want considered a punishment?" An eyebrow was raised to indicate checkmate for Catelyn. "You don't want to go to the party because it would make you miserable like a punishment would, which is why you are going to this party."

Arya made a face in disgust. "But, isn't that a bad idea? You want me to meet new people and make friends. Since I will already dread being there, I will be poor company to keep."

A few dishes were put away before Catelyn turned around to face her daughter, and then put her hands on her hips. You could give Arya a map with the easiest directions to a location and she will find the most difficult way to get there. She just had to learn things her own way or no way at all.

"Then make sure you are excellent company to keep this weekend," Catelyn warned. "I don't understand why it is so hard for you to at least try and get along with other people."

"Because other people are idiots." Catelyn didn't say anything as she thought of what to say next.

Briefly, she rubbed her temples, and then looked at her daughter. "I worry about, Arya, that is all. Is it wrong of your father and I to want you to have a life outside of videogames, music, and the Internet? Is it wrong of us to want you to have more than one friend?" Arya opened her mouth to defend herself when Catelyn raised a hand to silence her. "I know I may never understand you, but I can see that you are lonely and no parent wants their child to feel lonely or alone. I just want you to be happy."

The sincerity in her mother's voice was palpable. Just like Sansa, her mother tried relating, but they didn't know how to connect to her. And if Arya was honest with herself, she didn't know how to relate to them either. The difference between her and Sansa and her mother was that they actually tried. But, she didn't.

"I am happy…. sometimes," she admitted. Catelyn slowly walked over to her daughter and hugged her. "But, it feels like I'm always the odd person out-like I'm trying to make myself fit where I don't belong. That makes me feel more alone than being cooped up in my room all day."

It was the most honest thing Arya ever said to her mother and they both knew it.

Catelyn went into the cabinet where they stored the wine glasses, pulled two of them out, and sat one in front of Arya. For a moment, she disappeared into the walk-in pantry and strolled back to the table with red wine. She filled one-fourth of Arya's glass, and then poured herself a glass.

Usually, her mother and father allowed their kids have wine on holidays and certain dinner parties they threw. This deviation from the norm was quite odd.

"We're going to have a drink together," Catelyn obviously stated. "And you are going to tell me about yourself. I mean really tell me." Arya looked at her wine before looking at her mother. "Go on. I wouldn't pour you a cup if I didn't intend for you to drink it."

Arya hesitantly sipped her drink. "What do you want me to tell you?"

"Anything," her mother shrugged. "Tell me anything you want. I would love to hear it."

An hour later, the two Stark women giggled as Arya recounted one of her many stories. Interest colored Catelyn's face as she heard the vivid details of the adventures. There was cackling swirling in the air and tears falling down their eyes. Out of the blue, Arya asked:

"Do you ever wonder what life would have been like if Uncle Brandon lived?" A contemplative look set upon her mother's face and she grabbed her talking companion's glass and refilled it to the one-fourth mark again.

The question didn't seem to catch Catelyn off guard, but she wasn't expecting it either. It seemed as if the woman was gauging if she should talk about the subject or not.

"I did the first few years," she admitted.

"So, was dad like second best or something," Arya made direct eye contact as she spoke.

"No." Her smile was a musing one as she took a sip of her wine. "I wasn't interested in your dad at all. I thought he was far too serious and distant. He was cold and unapologetically direct. There was nothing inviting about him." A short pause, then, "But I couldn't have been more wrong."

Arya seemed hurt that Catelyn was not initially interested in her father, despite her mother admitting being wrong about him. Catelyn sensed her daughter's emotional response to her confession.

"Arya," she began. "How you see your father and how he behaves around us is completely different from how strangers see him and how he behaves around them." She sat her glass down and scooted closer to Arya. "Your father is a very deliberate man and the way I interpreted him is the way he wanted me to. And the same goes for you. He's this great, loving dad because he wants to be one. People don't act the same way around everyone; their behavior changes to fit that person or group. Ned's the same way. I only got to know his softer side because he eventually let me in."

"So what if Uncle Brandon had lived," Arya pushed. Catelyn then understood some of Arya's antagonistic behavior towards her in the last year. Her daughter believed that if her uncle had lived, she wouldn't be here, which is true. She wanted to believe that her parents chose each other out of love not circumstance. It surprised Cat, but she surmised that Arya wanted her existence to be more concrete than her mother's fiancée dying and her father being there.

Catelyn chose her words carefully. "The answer wouldn't bring you peace either way," she answered. "You question if you would have existed if Brandon had lived and we both know the answer, but life is a series of hypotheticals." Catelyn wanted her daughter to see the bigger picture. "You want to believe that you were meant to be here and you were, Arya, you were because if not, then you wouldn't be. What if my mother had never died? What if I dated my childhood friend Petyr when he asked me out? What if I went with my first choice of college instead of my second? What if my parents never met? Regardless of how you feel about these answers, that's all they are: hypotheticals. It doesn't change the fact that I love your father and we are still together 20 years later."

Slowly, she older woman picked up her glass and took a sip and Arya did the same.

"Hypotheticals will drive you insane," she sighed. "It drove me insane for a while. Gods knows it did." A longer sip was taken, and then she contemplated the hypothetical. "If he had lived, it would have been great at first. When he died, we were still in that honeymoon phase of our relationship and I overlooked important attributes that made long sustaining relationships. It would have fizzled and I would have been unhappy and stuck in a marriage that I had rushed into. And tragically in love with your father." Arya stared at her in disbelief. "I know people think I loved your father because I had to, which is partially true, but I fell in love with your father because of who he was. Like I said earlier, he's warm and kind with family and I think we would have gotten to know each other and that I would have realized my mistake. But, it would have been too late by then. Either way I would have done my duty."

Arya let out a small chuckle. "Duty," she repeated. "I guess Sansa is a younger you then," she remarked. "She's always going about how it is our duty to do this or that. No one wonder why two get each other so much." Catelyn could read the subtext: Arya was saying that Sansa was her favorite.

"Yes, I get Sansa, but you were more of a younger me than she is," Arya gave a disagreeing look. "Who do you think you get your stubbornness from or your opinionated nature? Not your father, that's for sure. We may not share certain in things in common, but you are more like me than you realize, Arya," she pointed at her daughter and smirked. "Contrary to what you think, I don't play favorites or have any either. It's just easier for me understand Sansa than it is you. I love all of my children equally. And I have favorite characteristics I enjoy in each of you."

Catelyn swallowed the rest of her drink and washed the glasses. After she was done, she dried them off and put them back in the cabinet.

"I enjoyed talking to you, Arya," her mother smiled warmly before placing a kiss on her forehead. "Our conversation has helped me get to understand you a little bit better. Thank you for talking to me."

With that, she exited the kitchen and left Arya to her thoughts.

Although her mother rescinded her dinner party punishment, Arya still went anyways. Catelyn said she didn't have to go since it had nothing to do with the family or business, but Arya wanted to give making new friends another go.

The Dayne family was hosting the dinner party. They seemed to be nice enough people Arya thought as her parents introduced her to them. Her father asked about King's Landing as far as the community and schools went, but the Dayne's didn't know much. They explained that they just owned a summerhouse and said that the crime was relatively low.

Arya smiled and laughed at the right jokes for a while before venturing away.

Despite her efforts, Arya quickly found out that the kids in King's Landing was worst than the kids in Winterfell. They took class and nobility very seriously as well as adhering to traditional gender roles. Also, they were incredibly snobby. The predictably of her peers no longer astounded Arya. She saw Sansa get along famously with everyone and Bran and Rickon were making great impressions as well.

Somehow she found herself outside trying to escape from the party. Simultaneously, she was overwhelmed by the people, but underwhelmed by their predictability. Perhaps she was the issue—she was a glitch in high society. Everyone got along and understood one another except for her. Mycah was the only one who she could relate and he didn't judge her and, despite their closeness, there was an empty void inside of her.

"Do you mind if I join you," Arya jumped slightly and turned to face the voice.

"Have you got any manners?" She asked incredulous as she looked at her guest Edric Dayne. "Besides, why are you asking? This is your house."

Edric bowed his head.

"Yes, but I wouldn't want to intrude upon your privacy," he said as way of explanation. "You seem to want to be alone."

"Really?" Arya proclaimed sarcastically. "Then why are you asking to join me?"

"Sorry, my lady." Edric uttered apologetically. "I will excuse myself." Edric turned to walk towards the mansion.

"Edric, wait." Arya said and the boy stopped in his tracks. "You can join me if only you don't call me my lady."

"That I can do," he agreed as he sat next to her. The Stark girl examined her new companion. He had light blonde hair and dark blue eyes. "You can call me Ned."

"Okay," she nodded. "My father's nickname is Ned."

"I know."

They didn't speak to each as Arya stargazed. She had found several constellations when Ned spoke.

"My birthday was last week," he said nonchalantly.

"Oh really," her tone was detached.

"Yeah, I turned 15."

"That's nice." Arya didn't care too much for her own birthday; she just wanted her presents.

"How old are you? That's if you mind me asking."

"Thirteen."

"Thirteen," he repeated.

"Yeah, my birthday is in December." Arya didn't know why she told him. It just seemed like something to say.

Ned skipped a couple rocks and Arya joined him. Whatever game they were playing, she was winning. A few rules had been added, which only made it harder for Ned. He was good at games and sports, but not naturally. He wasn't someone who just got the hang of something; he needed to practice.

"Do you want to go to my tree house?" Arya looked at the extravagantly crafted structure and nodded yes. They walked to the tree house in silence and Ned gestured to the rope ladder for Arya to go first. "Ladies first."

Arya rolled her eyes and she took off her flats and handed it to Ned. "No, you go first."

"It would be rude and impolite for me to go first," Ned pushed the ladder toward her.

"And it would be unladylike for me to go." She gestured towards her dress and Ned blushed. Arya hated to use the term unladylike, but it was the only way Ned would understand.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he stammered as he covered his eyes. "Uh…I promise not to look."

"Just go, Ned," Arya groaned, and then pushed him to go up the ladder. Grudgingly, the older boy complied and Arya followed after him.

The inside of the tree house looked like an office combined with a game room. It even had working electricity. There was a big screen TV mounted on the wall with a shelf beneath it that had a DVD player and movies. Arya whistled as she examined the place.

"And you only stay here for the summer," she asked without looking at him. "Do you have one back Starfall like this?"

"Yeah, it's bigger than this one," Ned replied.

"Cool beans," she said absentmindedly.

Ned turned on the TV as Arya continued to search his room. Unsurprisingly, he had cable and Internet in his tree house as well. It seemed as if they had similar interest in music, movies, and sports. She picked up a CD and showed it to Ned.

"You listen to 'Explosions in the Sky'?" The song Slow Dance filled the room as she turned the volume to a moderate level. Ned had approved of her choice in song.

"Yeah," he sat on his beanbag chair and watched her as she continued to look around.

"Cool beans," she smiled at him.

Arya opened a cabinet and gasped.

"Ned, you bad boy, you," she said excitedly and, instantly, Ned knew what she was looking at.

"Arya, don't touch that," he went over to shut the cabinet doors. Arya stopped him.

"Why not?" She threw him a displeased glance before pulling out the items.

"Because you are too young for it," he explained as Arya throatily laughed.

"And you aren't?" Ned was quiet. "I thought so. Why do you have alcohol and cigarettes anyways? You seem like you're a stickler for the rules."

Ned's faced turned bright red.

"Aww…you were trying to rebel," they walked to the beanbags and sat down together. "You couldn't go through with it, could you?"

"How could you tell?" Arya held up the unopened package of cigarettes.

"Besides being unopened, it has been collecting dust."

Arya opened the whiskey bottle and poured her and Ned a glass, but not too much. She then opened the cigarettes and handed Ned one.

"I've never smoked before," he stated the obvious.

"Me neither," she shrugged, and then lit both of their cigarettes.

In an anxious manner, Ned puffed his cigarette, but didn't inhale and Arya glared at him.

"Are you serious?" She then cautiously inhaled her cigarette, and then coughed. Ned followed her lead and went into a coughing fit. "Quiet down," she shushed.

"I can't—" his coughing fit began again and Arya handed him his glass a whiskey. As the boy tried to contain his coughing, tears welled in his eyes. After Ned somewhat composed himself, he gulped down his drink and Arya quickly refilled his cup.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He shook his head up and down as he took another drag. The coughing wasn't a bad the second time. "So, why are you…you know?" He gestured to the cigarettes and whiskey.

"Every girl needs a rebellious side," she said as way of explanation.

"You look very pretty tonight," he said shyly. Arya had on a deep gray A-Line dress and her hair was done in a traditional Winterfell hairstyle with some loose curls. Arya side-eyed him before mumbling:

"Thanks." She didn't believe him, but she didn't want to continue the conversation either. Better to accept the compliment than talking about it any more than she wanted to.

They watched TV as they smoked, but really it was channel surfing. Arya had no interest in anything that was on and Ned was being a gracious host by letting her choose. He suggested shows and movies to watch, but Arya was dismissive of his suggestions.

"You don't seem like your thirteen." Arya raised her eyebrow. "I don't know…you seem older than that. You act older than me."

"That's because I can see how stupid everything and everythone are," Arya said as if it was common knowledge.

"Do you think I am stupid," he asked.

"Yeah, but I think everyone is stupid, so it doesn't matter." She finished her glass of whiskey and stopped Ned as he tried to pour her another cup. "I don't hang out with kids around my age, except my best friend Mycah and he lives in another city. So, I spend a lot of time around my older brothers. I watch a lot of TV and movies, read a lot of books—books for older kids, listen to kick ass music, and my parents treat me like a young adult rather than some stupid kid. So, it was a combination of things really. I observe people as well," she said offhandedly.

"I like it," Ned complimented.

"Thanks." The cigarette was deposited in her cup since she didn't wanted to be rude and leave it on his floor. As she was about to say something to Ned, he tried to lean in and kiss her, but she stopped him before he could. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry," he stammered. "I just wanted to kiss you."

"God, you're such an idiot," she exclaimed as she picked up her shoes from the floor. He called after her as she descended the ladder, and then followed her.

"I'm so sorry, Arya. I didn't mean to offend you," he apologized profusely once he got to the ground. "It's just that…I like you and I thought that you liked me."

Arya laughed. "You thought that I liked you? I was just being nice. You were the one who came over and asked to sit next to me."

A pained expression fell upon Ned's face. Internally, she groaned.

"Look, Ned, I'm sorry for laughing and saying what I did. You are a nice guy, but I don't like you like that," she apologized. "And we just met each other like an hour and half ago."

Ned scratched his head, and then nodded in agreement. It looked as if he was too embarrassed to talk about it. He changed the subject. "Let's find a way to get this smell off of us before you leave."

"Great idea."

There was a spare toothbrush that Ned gave to Arya and the brushed their teeth and tongues very thoroughly—in separate bathrooms, of course. Ned then gave Arya some dryer sheets to rub on her body before giving her perfume to spray on herself that his Aunt Ashara left at the house.

"If that doesn't work, then I don't know what else will other than washing and drying my clothes," Arya said as they walked into the kitchen. The teens ate some ice cream as they waited for the dinner party to end. The Stark girl still had no idea what Ned was thinking when he tried to kiss her. She didn't think much boys or thought that they were icky, but she definitely was NOT interested in dating, kissing, or anything else.

"I know I tried to kiss you, but we can still be friends, right?" He took a scoop of ice cream and put it in his mouth as he stared expectantly at Arya.

"Of course, but please don't try to kiss me again."

"Okay." They shook hands on it.

Later on, as she buckled her seatbelt, her mom smiled at her.

"I see you made a friend." Arya could tell that her mother was excited.

"Yes, a friend." She emphasized. "The rest were terrible and he lives in Dorne, so I guess we are going to be pen pals."

"Still, two friends are better than one." Her daughter shrugged.

"And one is better than none."

Her father paid for Mycah to come down and visit her and Arya introduced him to Ned. The three of them were inseparable while Mycah was in town. After he left, their calls continued, but she spent more time with Ned. Besides the whole kiss fiasco, he proved to be a good friend. And he seemed to be happy to be invited into Arya's triangle of friends.

When school started, she didn't expect it to be any different than her time in Winterfell and it wasn't. Sansa got all of the attention as usual and she was ignored…as usual, which was fine. As she ate lunch by herself, she read books and did schoolwork, so she wouldn't have much to do when she got home. Everything was fine until Joffrey started trying to bully her. Keyword: trying. Arya refused to be bullied by anyone whether or not she had a shot in winning, which she always believed she did.

As the school year progressed, Joffrey's attempts increasingly worse and worse, as did her relationship with Sansa. The two had started to date before the summer ended and her sister defended everything Joffrey all while acting as if Arya was the instigator. Her perfect prince would never do such a thing. Arya had such a "hateful" heart and just wanted to make her life miserable by messing with her boyfriend.

The Baratheon's ran King's Landing and either people turned a blind eye or didn't believe Joffrey to be the shit Arya knew him to be. It was all too much to bear. Staying in her room wasn't an option because he only bothered her at school. Also, her parents wouldn't let her transfer schools or get homeschooled.

All hell broke loose in April.

Joffrey was eating lunch during the wrong period. It made Arya feel uncomfortable to be in the same room as Joffrey. Nothing good ever came when they were in the same room together whether or not other people were around them. Arya quickly finished her lunch and when she looked up, Joffrey was gone. She cursed herself for taking her eyes off of Joffrey. After she threw her trash away, she began to walk towards the exit when someone and their whole tray of food collided with her.

"My bad," the guy pretended ignorance. "I didn't see you right there." He slightly rubbed the food on Arya's shirt, and then walked away. Arya was furious. She saw red as she heard a few of her peers giggled. Suddenly, a cold drink was poured on her head.

By now, she was absolutely fuming.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" She turned to the guy who poured the cold beverage on her. This had to be Joffrey's doing. Her fist was balled to her side and Arya was prepared to punch him, but she was also on the verge of crying. It was all too much. A new city, new school, Jon was still gone, and everything was shit. Could her life get any worse? She didn't want her classmates to see her cry.

She turned around and starting walking when, suddenly she was tripped and fell.

"Watch where you're going, horse face!" She heard Joffrey yell. Laughter erupted in the lunchroom.

Arya turned too see Joffrey get up from his place at the table and stand above her. Suddenly, she jumped up and pushed her tormentor. Joffrey staggered a bit and after he re-gained his balance, he angrily walked towards her as Arya got into a fighting stance. As if he could fight, Joffrey tried to punch Arya, but she dodged all of his attempts before landing some well placed hits herself.

Joffrey was doubled over and saw his friends to attack Arya and waved them off. Arya knew that if they had been alone, Joffrey would have let them, but they were in front of other people and he didn't want to seem weak.

Again, the Baratheon boy tried to hit her, but Arya gracefully maneuvered away from any intended hits. Joffrey threw himself at her and she responded by holding him tight and kneeing him in the gut.

In pain, Joffrey writhed on the floor as he squinched his eyes shut.

"Why are you guys just standing there?" He whined after he opened his eyes. "Fuck the bitch up!"

As both of the boys made their way towards her, she decided to attack one of them first before being attacked herself. Luckily for her, the guys had the same scrawny stature like Joffrey.

In quick succession, Arya gave a few sucker punches to one of the guys in the gut. The boys began to gasp as he fell to the floor. The other one wrapped his arms around her tightly and she responded by using all of her might to step on his foot, and then leaning forward to flip him over when the kid let his guard down.

Before she could gather herself, she felt some grabbed a huge chunk of her hair. Rather than struggle against this method of attack, Arya pushed her weight against her attacker and let them fall forward. As she got on her hands and knees, she saw that it was Joffrey. He tried to crawl away, but Arya grabbed him, turned him over, and crawled on top of him to immobilize him. She then began to land punches on his face.

"What where you are going, shit face!" She shouted at her sister's boyfriend. Blood curdling cries filled the cafeteria room as Arya released a year's worth of pent of anger. Joffrey stopped struggling and went limp. Only his head moved to signal that he was still conscious.

Arya got up and numbly stared at Joffrey. Blood dripped from her hand as she then looked around in the cafeteria. Everyone stared at her in shock and horror. She didn't care what they thought. What did they do when three boys tried to attack her? They stared and yell 'fight, fight'. Where were the teachers who were supposed to prevent it from escalating this far?

There was no resistance from her when the security guards apprehended her.

She waited for her parents in the principal's office.

As they spoke to the principal, she remained silent unless spoken to. It was explained that she would be suspended until all of the details were sorted as to what really happened.

The silence while in principal's office carried over from the car ride to the hospital. Arya's hand was experiencing excruciating pain and was swollen. Without speaking, it seemed to be agreed that her hand was broken. The x-ray confirmed it. Arya left the hospital with a cast and some papers on how to properly care for her hand.

"Arya, your father and I will talk to you about this when I come back," Catelyn said in a tight voice as she and her father exited the car. Ned was busy talking to Robert as he made his way to the front door. Her mother had to pick up Rickon from school.

"I know," Arya groaned.

"You know?" Catelyn said incredulously. "No, you don't know. You don't know anything," she fumed. "Do you realize how big the consequences of your actions are?"

Arya went to her room and locked the door. She didn't want to do anything or talk to anyone. It didn't surprise her that everyone thought that she was completely guilty of initiating the fight. She may have thrown the first punch, but she was provoked plain and simple.

Twenty minutes later, she went down stairs to make herself a sandwich and get a bottle of water to take with her medicine. It was too strong to take on an empty stomach. She was halfway finished with her sandwich when Sansa barged into the kitchen.

"You must really hate me, huh!" Sansa dropped her book bag and walked over to Arya.

"Sansa, leave me alone," Arya warned before drinking her water. "I'm not in a mood to talk."

"You're not in a mood to talk," Sansa said as she invaded her sister's personal space. "You just beat up my boyfriend in front of the ENTIRE school for no reason at all."

"Get out of my face." Arya gave Sansa a dark glare before getting up and putting her dishes in the sink.

"No," Sansa walked behind Arya and maneuvered her head so that her sister was looking at her. "I've been out of your face since school started. I've been out of your face so we wouldn't argue all of the time. But, that hasn't helped anything—it has only made it worse. Now I am in your face because you can't just bully and fight people without any consequences."

Arya balled her good fist and deeply exhaled. "I don't have time for this," she dismissed as she attempted to walk away.

"Then you better make time," her sister demanded as she grabbed Arya's arm. Arya snatched her arm out of Sansa's hold and whipped around to face her.

"You better keep your fucking hands off of me before I pound your face in like I did your beloved Joffrey," she threatened.

"I'm not afraid of you," she said fearlessly as she walked closer to Arya in order to use her height to intimidate her.

"Then you're a goddamn fool," Arya declared. "Your boyfriend and his friends weren't either and they ended up more bruised than me."

Fear colored Sansa's eyes briefly, and then she stood tall again. Arya walked away this time knowing that Sansa wouldn't grab her again.

"That's why you are going to end up old, bitter, and lonely." Sansa yelled behind her. "No one's going to love you—no one!"

Sansa followed Arya to the front of the house.

"I don't fucking care!"

"You don't care because you know it wouldn't make a difference if you did care." Sansa shouted back. "Mycah and Ned are only friends with you because they feel sorry for you. Poor Ned for was forced to be your friend by his parents and, well, Mycah wasn't forced to, but who wouldn't love being friends with a rich girl when she is desperate for friends and you get free stuff?" Sansa was looking to draw blood. "You think you are hot shit, Arya, but no one likes you. My bad, you already know that which is why you pretend not to care. You act as if you are misunderstood when, really, no one cares to understand. Why would they? You're angry all of the time and bully people. I really think you are adopted or some bastard like Jon," she spat. "And it's not like you are much to look at either…no wonder the boys stay away. At the rate you are going, you are bound to bloom into a full-blown mare soon. "

Arya could feel the tears coming, but her anger smothered the weaker reaction and she faced her sister.

"Well, I rather be a mare than a stupid piece of shit like you," she lashed out. "God, you're so fucking stupid, Sansa. You get the grades, but that's because you remember shit rather than understand it. Even a monkey can do it, but wait—a monkey is smarter than you. And you think you are better than me because you are prettier and because they guys pay attention to you?" Arya laughed in her sister's face. "They just want to fuck you, dumbass. Do any of them try and get to know you and the things you like? No, no they don't. They just buy you flowers and whisper sweet things and you melt. It's because they know if they are persistent enough, you'll spread your legs like elevator doors. All they have to do is push the right button. Isn't the only time Joffrey even shows the slightest bit of interest in you is for sex? 'Come on, Sansa, it's not that big of a deal'," she mocked. "Even he knows you are a dumbass. I mean that is the only way to explain way to explain it, right? Only a dumbass would treat a guy like a king when he treats her like shit, except when he trying to convince her to have sex."

"At least, I can get a boyfriend!" Tears pooled in Sansa's eyes as she looked at her sister.

"At least, I can get a boyfriend," Arya mocked. "Shut the fuck up talking to me, stupid ass cunt."

Her stomach dropped when she heard her mother gasp and father shout, "Arya!"

Loud sobs filled the air as Sansa cried on the couch. Arya groaned in disgust. She believed Sansa had no right to cry with all that shit she just said to her.

Unsurprisingly, her parents only her very last statement. Rich. Rich, indeed. Stoically, Arya listened as her parents yelled while they reprimanded her. They went on at length about how her behavior was unacceptable and that they couldn't allow this to go on. They said that thought King's Landing would have been beneficial for her and that she was making progress. She was too "uncontrollable" and not willing to get along well with others. Robert Baratheon wanted to press charges and put her in a juvenile detention center.

Arya heard about everyone feelings from Joffrey to Sansa to Cersei to Catelyn. Everyone had thoughts about the fight and what happened afterwards.

Ned had calmed Robert down when he said that he would take care of it.

Eight weeks later, she was packing for her extended stay at some behavioral rehabilitation center for teens called "Wholistic Core."

All of the things that Arya could take with her were packed, which included her clothes, toiletries, iPod, and a few other miscellaneous items. No phones and no laptops. Her father packed her things into the car before they ate breakfast. Arya hadn't spoke to Sansa since that day and Sansa didn't want to speak to her. Truth be told, she didn't speak to hardly anyone even Mycah and Ned, which may or may have had something to do with Sansa.

Her mother and father drove her to the airport as Arya gloomily watched the trees pass her by.

"I know you hate us for this," Ned began. "But, we're doing what's best for you."

"No, you are doing this for Robert," she pronounced Robert Baratheon's name in a snide tone.

"It is a solution that benefits both parties." Arya saw her father look at her through the rearview mirror. His eyes told her to tread lightly.

Catelyn turned around to face her daughter. "I don't know why you are so mad at us, Arya. If Robert had his way, you would be in a detention center right now. You should be thankful to your father and I for finding a suitable alternative rather than being angry at us."

Arya said nothing and continued to look at the swirl of trees.

Ned arranged for Arya's bags to be delivered separately from her when they got to the airport. It would be too much for her to carry all at once. Arya only had to carry two pieces of luggage, which was fine by her.

Before her parents waved her off through the gate, they tried to hug her, but she was unresponsive. As she was about to enter the gate, she stopped and turned around.

"I'm not angry at you all for punishing me." Arya gnawed at her lip. "I understand why you had to do it. I'm angry because after everything happened, no one ever asked me how I felt and what really happened. No one wanted to listen to me. I am angry because no matter what I have done, you all have ALWAYS listened to me. ALWAYS. And the one time I needed to be heard the most, you two were so busy trying to make Mr. Baratheon happy that you never heard me out." Tears welled in Arya's eyes as she spoke, and then she walked away.

"Arya," her mother called out, but Arya ignored her as she went through the gate.

It baffled Arya that her parents never truly spoke to her. They were obsessed with how their kids were feeling and would hear their side of the story before reacting. Even if the same outcome did happen, at least, they would have heard her out.

She supposed that her parents had been under a lot of stress. The school wanted to permanently expel her because of the severity of Joffrey's injuries, Robert wanted to press criminal charges and have her in juvie, and all of the other countless stuff that stemmed from her fighting Joffrey. Her parents were trying to fight the expulsion, but the school did not want Arya back on their premises and neither did Robert.

When everything had went down, she had been so angry with everyone, especially her parents. After Catelyn and Ned were through reprimanding Arya, she went to her room, flopped on her bed, and screamed into her pillow. For hours, she spent her time alternating between being pacing her room and ranting to herself and crying. She had enough of people admonishing her and saying that she wasn't behaving like a lady. It was all too much. Arya stared herself in her mirror and something within her cracked. Almost as if she was possessed, she grabbed a pair of scissors and frantically cut her hair.

The next day, as Catelyn watched her daughter descend the stairs, she said nothing, but devastation accumulated in her eyes as realized her daughter had cut her long locks.

It made Arya had temporarily happy. She figured it was the last time she was going to be happy for a long time.

As the airplane ascended above the clouds, Arya dreaded how each second brought her closer to the prison called Wholistic Core.


	3. All This Time

In wonderment, Arya stared at the lush wilderness that surrounded her. Winterfell had trees and vegetation, but it didn't compare to the vibrancy of the green forest she walked through. After she had arrived to Wholistic Core, the employees had immediately checked her in and showed her to her room. They said she had an hour to herself before she had to go a mandatory meeting.

As she waited for her luggage, she found a packet on her bed that was addressed to her. It said: Arry Stark of Winterfell. She figured it was a typo, but she wouldn't correct them on it. It was their mistake, not hers. It gave her an idea as well. Arya was tired of being the fuck up and disappointment of the family. Perhaps, just for a little while, she could be someone else. Someone who didn't have all those expectations imposed upon them and she wouldn't be judged harshly. Perhaps, she could be who she really wanted to be without being criticized. Without a second thought, Arya put on the nametag.

After walking for a few more minutes with a small group, rows and rows of chairs came into view. It seemed as if the meeting was being held outside. Arya took a seat in the back as she waited for the rest of the chairs to fill up. In about twenty minutes, every single chair had someone sitting in them and the people around her chattered in lively tones.

It puzzled Arya how some people could just make friends so easily, when she struggled so mightily just to get her family to understand her. She found it even harder to relate to people who didn't share her blood. Here she was, surrounded by people who most likely didn't know each other who were talking as if they were old friends and it was the loneliest she ever felt in her life.

She may have decided to become Arry for a while, but she still had the same problems as Arya.

"Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention," an authoritative voice commanded. It was stated as a question, but only out of politeness. Half of the crowd quieted down, but there were still people talking. "Ladies and gentlemen, I asked if I could have you attention," her voice became slightly louder with a hint of menace. The rest of the crowd ceased chatter. "Hello, my name is Leslie Davis," Leslie said in a welcoming tone as she smiled and waved at the crowd. "I am the executive director of Wholistic Core. Nice to meet everyone."

For a brief period of time, she walked back and forth as she examined the crowd. Her eyes quickly scanned the crowd and made on the spot assessments of as many people as she could.

"Now," she clasped her hands in front of her and held them close to her chest. "That whole repeating myself twice thing—that," disgust laced her voice as she said that. "Will never happen again. Before we continue, I will like to briefly explain my title. Basically, my job is to oversee the program like the activities, funding, employees, and so forth. I work from inside of the program, so I am here with you all. I see what works and what does not work and I try to improve these things regardless to make your guys' stay here. Now, we won't work one on one or talk much, BUT you will see me around. I always have my eyes open and my ears to the ground."

Arya tried to get a better look at the woman that was speaking. Leslie was a black woman who seemed of average height and her hair was pulled back into a ballerina bun. Her posture was that of one who was in control and she gave off an air of confidence.

"So, what is Wholistic Core," she began. "We aren't like boot camps whose collective purposes is to whip you into shape, so your parents and, society at large, finds your problematic behavior 'manageable'," Leslie grinned as she put air quotes around the last word. "No, our goal is much deeper than that. We want out reach to be further than that—much more profound than 'training' you and 'correcting' your behavior. We want to get to the root of it. We want to get to your core," passion fell from the program director's mouth as she spoke about Wholistic Core. "Can someone tell me the definition of the word core?"

Leslie searched the crowd and looked for volunteers. A few people raised their hands.

"Yes," she called on someone Arya couldn't see. The person gave their answer as Leslie gave her full attention. She called on two other people and attentively listened to them as well. "Does everyone get the gist of what core means? "The core is your very center—the foundation of who you are. It is the most ESSENTIAL part of ANYTHING," she emphasized. "Now, I don't want to my time spent on vocabulary and comprehension, but there are some keywords that I want everyone to understand, so we are all on the same page. Also, our age range here is from thirteen to twenty-two, so everyone's not on the same page as far as education goes," Leslie informed. "So, we will talk about some terms, but only for today."

Again, the woman assessed the crowd.

"To be essential is to be the most important or necessary base of a person, thing, or idea. So, your core is the MOST important thing that makes you who you are. Are you guys following me?" She took a sip of water. "Holism is the idea that everything is connected and cannot exist without one another. Like all those parts that make up cars, TV's, and phones. And if their cores are compromised, they malfunction. Some work and others don't. But, we don't we you all to have malfunctioning parts." Leslie smiled warmly at the crowd. "Another part of holism is the idea that we, the whole, are greater than the sum of our parts, which means we can accomplish more working together and using our strengths together in order to achieve our desired outcome." Pensively, she walked back in forth. In a slow manner, Leslie tapped a finger to her temple before marginally pointing towards the group of people in front of her. "But, the most effective way of accomplishing our goal is to get to the core, so that we can work together in harmony. Wholistic Core does this by striving to help individuals work on betterment by appropriately dealing with these mental and social issues AND learning how to manage them. So, why do we do this? We do we help kids of who labeled as problems kids in society? Because we care and we want to help everyone work on being the best possible person they can be. It may be foolish to some, but that's because they don't have a solid core."

A bearded man with hair just above his shoulders appeared on stage. His hair was brown and he had a stern expression on his face.

"This here is Yoren," she introduced. "I trust all of my employees, but he is my MOST trusted employees. I hired everyone here and made sure that they are specialized in whatever section that they are in. The reason Yoren is my most trust employee is because he deals with the behavior. He's our enforcer of the behavioral code, the dean, the warden—every term you can think of for a person you keeps a group of people in line, he is that." Yoren gave Leslie a knowing look, and then stared at the crowd again. "He's been with the program since the beginning and only three…" she looked at him for reassurance. "Only three out of thousands have been kicked out while Yoren has been here. He gets results. And he's a good guy. If you have any problem whatsoever: talk to him. Don't let your issue escalate. I know that there is a lot of you, but trust me, Yoren can handle it."

Leslie introduced other important members of the camp who would be more involved with the kids' day in and day out. Every worker was highly praised and doted upon. They workers seemed to be nice people even Yoren.

Arya didn't know what to make of the program, but she could tell that they put a lot of thought into it and cared for the kids. She really didn't consider herself a problem child, but then again, she wouldn't be here if people didn't find her problematic. She appreciated that Leslie didn't try and make it seem as if the kids were the issue just that they had some issues to deal with. Arya needed to work on her anger, but she didn't think she was as much trouble as people painted her out to be.

"Any questions," Leslie asked.

Hands flew up and Leslie answered them in a detailed and efficient manner. She smiled and joked with the kids as replied to each inquiry.

Arya wanted to ask a question, but she doubted that Leslie could see her all of the way in the back or that she would even choose her.

"Do you have a question," a counselor asked Arya. She widened her eyes in surprise.

"Umm, yes," she replied.

"What's your name," he smiled at her.

"Arry."

He tapped a mic in his hand. "Hey, Leslie," he called out to get her attention. "A young adult named Arry has a question."

"Sure," Leslie responded. "Shoot away."

"Well," Arya looked nervously around. "I know it's summer, but this program doesn't have an end date and the sheet I reader earlier says it can go through the school year. So, what about real school? Won't this interfere with some of our academics?"

As many difficulties as Arya has with her peers, she enjoyed school a lot. She didn't enjoy the droning on of some teachers, but the ones who cared about what they taught; she loved to be in their classes.

"Great question." Some of the kids looked at Arya. "I take it that you didn't get a chance to read everything in the packet we gave you?" Arya nodded in agreement. "That's completely understandable. Wholistic Core is a very unique program in that academics are incorporated into our program and offered to those who are either in high school or chooses to take the classes. The classes that you will take here whether it is for something equivalent to a semester to a full year are transferred into compatible credits to normal high schools and even colleges. So, if you put as much in your work here like you did in your previous school, you should be just fine. We have teachers who are accredited in the secondary level schooling and even advanced placement/honors classes. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes," Arya handed the mic back and sat down.

Another question asked Leslie how they were able to fund the program and she explained that they were funded from many branches of the government as well as big named corporations. She also noted that seventy percent of the participants had to pay and other, not as financially stable, participants were chosen on a case-by-case basis on a voucher. Leslie said that the lower class participants deserved the same opportunities as the higher-class participants. Someone else asked her why she said young adult so much rather than kids, children, teens and Leslie expounded that she treated the participants like young adults so they could think in a more mature manner. If you call someone a kid, they will act like a kid.

"Yes, sir," Leslie pointed to another person Arya couldn't see.

"I don't mean any offense," the young man began. "But, what makes you qualified to run the program?"

"No offense taken. What's your name," she asked politely.

"Gendry," he stated in an unsure tone.

"Well, Gendry," the older woman began. "I've been working with people my whole life. I was a camp counselor as a youth, but those were with actual kids—the ages between five and eleven," she clarified. "I started working with young adults—ages 13 through twenty-two—when I was a high school teacher. I know eighteen is considered and adult, but I go to twenty-two because some young adults stay home longer than others and some college students are still dependent on their parents. But, back to your question, so I was a high school teacher for a while in both upper and lower class schools, I was a social worker for a very short while, but none of those worked for me and I didn't know why," she shrugged her shoulders. "Then one day I came to see that I didn't want to teach students or simply get them out of bad homes, I wanted to help them better themselves. After a series of ups and down, I came into a work opportunity with Wholistic Core. So, what I believe makes me qualified for my job is that I not only care for you all, but I have experience with working with different behavioral mindsets. Does that answer your question?" It seemed as if the kid was satisfied. "Thank you for your question."

After a few more questions, Leslie began to wrap up the introduction/meeting section.

"It is my humble welcome you all to Wholistic Core and, hopefully, I get to know some of you all better for whatever your duration here will be. And one last note: if you looked at your itinerary, you would have seen that there is an awesome teamwork exercise next."

Arya reported to her group last.

"Arry Stark," the counselor asked.

"Yes," Arya nodded in agreement.

"Well, Arry," the guy began. "My name is Camden, but you can call me Cam. I am your immediate group leader, supervisor, or whatever you want to call me. We're not big on labels here, but we do want you to know who to report to and who the bigger fish are," he said. "As I was explaining to Gendry and Hot Pie," he pointed to a tall, muscular guy with thick jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes and an average height, overweight guy with dark blond hair. "One of your fellow group members had an allergic reaction to something and is being taken to the hospital and the other one is experiencing extreme homesickness."

Hot Pie laughed, "What a pussy."

"Hey, language," Camden admonished. "We do not tolerate foul language here and you will support and respect your fellow peers." Hot Pie rolled his eyes. "And you will respect me." Camden gave Hot Pie a disapproving look. Is there any nickname you go by Arry?"

"No, Arry is fine," she folded her arms and looked around.

"So, that is settled," he looked at his clipboard, and then pointed at each kid as he called off their names. "You are just Arry, just Gendry, and you want to be called Hot Pie. All good?" He gave two thumbs as he held the clipboard between his forefinger and middle finger against his palm. The young adults nodded in agreement. "Well, now that we have that out of the way. Before we go on are there any questions?"

The three teens gave him a blank look.

"Alrighty, then," he mumbled good-naturedly. "Wholistic Core doesn't believe in dipping a toe in—we like to jump in." He grinned widely at his group members. "So, with that being said, you all are going on a treasure hunt in the woods, which also doubles as a getting to know you exercise. So, while you look for your treasure, ask each other questions," he handed sat a backpack in front of them. "Don't skip over the getting to know you part either, it will be important later on."

Camden further explained what they were supposed to do, and then set them on their way.

The group decided to split up the responsibilities. Hot Pie read the map and compass, Gendry carried the backpack, and Arya read the list. As they searched for their first treasure, the young adults sweated profusely. Gendry decided to give everyone their water bottles, so they could stay hydrated.

"I know he said however long it takes, it takes, but this is ridiculous," Gendry complained before taking a big swig of his water. "It is hot as fuck out here."

"Well, he did say that they didn't believe in dipping a toe in," Arya offered. She wiped her forehead in discomfort. Winterfell had summers, but they weren't nearly this hot. The summers were mild and the winters were harsh. She could handle winter.

"I wish I could did a toe into some water," Hot Pie supplied wistfully. "Or better yet: cannonball."

Arya and Gendry daydreamed with him.

"How much longer do we have to go," Gendry moved the bag around on his back.

"Much longer," he chubby kid groaned.

"We should eat," Gendry suggested. "I don't know about you all, but it's been a while since I've had something." His companions agreed as they pulled the prepared food out of the bag. They quiet ate and the momentarily rested from the hike. After they finished, they resumed treasure hunting. Shortly after they began walking, they approached a creek. Excitedly, they splashed themselves in water. Gendry and Hot Pie pulled off their shirts and dipped them completely in the water.

"Thanks Gods," Gendry moaned as he cooled his skin. He let his shirt absorb water, and then wrung it out on his skin "I was practically baking in the heat."

"Do you know how much longer we have left," Arya asked. "This shit is taking too long."

"You complaining about it isn't going to make us get there any faster," Hot Pot admonished as he tried to copy Gendry.

"But, it shouldn't take this long," she practically yelled. "If this is the easy part of the program, I wonder what the hard part looks like." Arya got out of the creek and walked over to Hot Pie, and then snatched the map from him. As she read the map and compared it to the treasure trail directions as well as the compass, her face increasingly got red. Her fury built exponentially as she exploded, "You have to be fucking kidding!" She shoved Hot Pie to the ground and he hit his head on the ground.

"Ow," he cried.

"Hold up, hold up," Gendry said in a placating manner as he ran over to the two of them and stood in front of Arya. "What's the problem?"

"What's the problem," Arya sneered. "This dumbass can't read a fucking map. We've ventured an hour and a half off trail." A strangled noise came from her mouth as Gendry looked gobsmacked.

"That can't be right," Gendry said hesitantly as he took the map from here. "I don't even know why I am reading this, I don't know how to read a map. Are you sure?"

Arya gave him an unbelieving expression. "Am I sure?" She mirthlessly laughed. "I was practically raised in the woods. My father took my brothers and I camping all of the time." The omittance of Sansa was intentional.

Gendry threw his hands in the air, and then exhaled loudly. "Okay, perhaps it's not that bad. We can walk back to the trail, and then finish the treasure hunt from there," he suggested.

"Not that bad, Gendry," Arya glared at him. "We have an hour and a half walk to take back to the trail—the beginning of the trail. Then, who knows how long it will take to complete the teambuilding exercise. It's that bad." She paced back and forth. "God, you are so stupid—both of you."

Gendry glared at her and tightened his jaw. "If we're stupid, you are stupid as well. If you could read a map and compass, then why did you give it to Hot Pie."

"Because he said he could read a fucking map and COMPASS!" She shouted in his face. They both turned to Hot Pie.

"My bad," he said apologetically. "I thought that it would be easy to figure out."

"You thought wrong," Gendry sniped as he went back to the creek and tried to cool off one more time before they left.

Arya went to the bag and sat the map and compass down. She searched the bag for sunscreen and applied it to her skin.

"If we speed walk, do you think we can get back before dark," Gendry asked as he put on his shirt.

The older boy could see her think in over in her mind. "Depends on what you mean by dark," she said vaguely. "If we walk fast enough, we can get back during dusk." Gendry ran a hand through his hair. "But, that's if we skip the treasure hunt. We don't know how long it will take to find each thing."

"Do we have enough food to last us," Hot Pie asked.

"Fuck off," Gendry and Arya shouted simultaneously. Hot Pie grumbled and started to fiddle around next to Arya while she ignored him. They zoned him out and didn't notice when he ran off into the creek.

"I rather just skip the treasure and get back before it's too dark," Gendry agreed. "We can explain to them that we got lost because a certain someone didn't know what he was doing. Why would they send us into the woods not knowing if we could read a map or not?"

Arya sighed at the heat. "Wholistic core doesn't do anything half-assed. I mean, they should have handed me the map, but they probably asked our parents or some shit if we knew how to read maps. They probably assumed that people who didn't know how to read a map or compass wouldn't pretend that they did know and gave the stuff to the people who did know how to read it in the group instead."

"I guess," he mildly agreed. "We should get started since time is of the essence," he mockingly repeated the well-known phrase.

Arya wiped her forehead and turned around to pick up the map and compass.

"Where's the map?" Gendry could see that Arya was panicked as she searched for the map in the bag and around it. "It was right here." She pointed to the ground. "I sat it on the ground with the compass on top of it, so it wouldn't blow away."

Hot Pie turned red.

"What did you do," Arya screamed at him.

As the blond kid answered her, he stammered, "I just wanted to look at the compass again, so I picked it up," he said quietly. "After I was done looking at it, I noticed the map was gone. We I looked around, I saw it floating in the creek and went after it." He pulled a wet piece of paper out of his back pocket. Arya snatched it from him and saw that the paper was completely soaked. The ink was runny and the map was no longer usable.

"Are you fucking serious right now," she balled up the wet paper and threw it at Hot Pie. He flinched. "Are you FUCKING serious? First you lie and say you can read something you clearly can't and steer us an hour and a half away from the path, now you let the map get into the water and get soaked to a point where it can't be read?" Suddenly, she began to hit him. "You're a fucking genius, that's what you are."

Gendry hurried up and pulled her away from the other guy. "Calm down,"

"No," she ripped her body away from Gendry's. "Are you really expecting me to be calm right now?"

"I don't know," he answered. "But, I sure as hell know that anger and beating the shit out of someone doesn't help even if it does make you feel good."

"Well, I don't know what will." She paced back and forth. "We've gone too far from the path, we have no map, we are extremely low on food—something else is bound to go wrong."

The only sounds that were made were those that came from the woods. "Well, didn't you say you was practically raised in the woods—we can hunt or catch some fish," Hot Pie offered.

"Arry can't catch fish with his fucking hands," Gendry said incredulously. "Besides, we don't have any tools to hunt with."

"There is nothing to hunt anyways," Arya started putting the items back in the bag. Hot Pie looked around as if he was trying to scope out a potential predator. "These people aren't going to make us go on treasure hunt around dangerous animals. Deer aren't generally dangerous, but unfortunately as Gendry said, we don't have tools even if they were around."

"So, what are we going to do," Hot Pie was terrified. Arya wanted to scare him, but she wanted to get out of the woods even more and a panicked person was only a hindrance.

Wordlessly, Arya pointed to the creek. Gendry crinkled his eyebrows, and then raised them in realization.

"How does that help us," Hot Pie asked as he moved out the way for Gendry to pick up the backpack.

Gendry turned to the boy and looked at him. "It helps us because it is the only creek around here. This creek runs behind our cabin area. If we follow it, it will lead up back to campgrounds."

"And you guys were worried about us being lost." Hot Pie smiled, and then erased it when both of him comrades shot him death glares.

Arya and Gendry walked at a faster pace than Hot Pie and refused to walk slower so he could walk beside him. They checked on him every few minutes to make sure he was still there and all right.

"So, why are you here," Arya asked as she swatted a mosquito away.

"I don't know," Gendry shrugged as he stared straight ahead.

"You're a liar," she proclaimed.

"No, I'm not," he denied.

"Yes, you are," Arya said.

"You're starting to be a pain in my ass," Gendry remarked.

"And you're being stupid." She sipped her water that she gathered from the creek minutes before as she looked expectantly at Gendry.

"You know you shouldn't insult those who are bigger that you," Gendry looked at Arya briefly before looking to the ground as he walked.

Arya looked offended at his words. "Then I wouldn't get to insult anyone."

Gendry laughed.

"Honestly, I really don't know." He scratched the back of his neck and sighed. "My foster dad just told that I had to come to this program and that there wasn't any negotiation. I know why he wants me here, but I don't know why he signed me up in this specific camp. I was never a problem child."

"Tsk, tsk," Arya said. "You mean, young adult."

"You're right, I was never got into any trouble as a young adult," he humored Arya.

"So, why does your foster dad want you to be here," she inquired.

"He claimed that it was a good opportunity for me." Gendry turned his head to check on Hot Pie. "Some shit about expanding horizons." Arya slightly laughed.

"My dad said the same thing when we moved last year," Arya could relate to being told what would be best for us. "I don't mean to sound intrusive, but why didn't you grow up with your parents?"

"Well, I don't know who my dad is." Gendry and Arya stopped so Hot Pie could catch up. He had fallen somewhat behind. "And my mom died when I was younger. All I remember about her is that she had blond hair and worked at a bar. I was in and out of foster homes before I met my foster father when I was twelve."

"How old are you now?" They began to walk again when Hot Pit was ten feet behind them.

"Nineteen." The sun started setting, which lessen the intensity of the heat. "And you?"

"Fourteen," she answered.

"So, what about you?" He asked nonchalantly.

"What about me?" Arya took a bit of her granola bar as she looked at him.

"Why are you pretending to be a boy," he cut straight to the point.

"I'm not pretending to be a boy," she contradicted. "I am one."

"No you're not," he grinned.

"Yes, I am," she defended.

"Then whip out your cock and take a piss," he demanded. "I'm not stupid not like the others, you know."

"No you're stupider," she insulted.

Gendry laughed and held onto the book bag straps tighter. "Come on, I'm waiting."

Arya glared at him. "Fine, I'm a girl."

The older boy shook his head at his victory. Upon first glance, Gendry thought that Arya was a boy, until they spent the rest of the day together. She certainly had the look. Her hair was styled like his—unkempt and very short. She wore a regular gray t-shirt, cargo shorts, and boots. He couldn't determine if her voice was high because Arry hadn't hit puberty yet or if it was because Arry's genes were really XX. It was certain mannerisms and further inspection of her physical characteristics that tipped him off.

"Why do you want to be a boy?" Arya rolled her eyes at him question.

"I don't want to be a boy," she declared and Gendry looked her up and down before meeting her eyes again to make a point. "Not in that way. I like who I am and what I am, but girls don't get the same freedoms as guys, you know? Everything we do gets judged, criticized, and torn apart and I'm so fucking tired of it."

"If it's any consolation, you're the most kick ass girl I've met so far," Gendry offered. Arya smiled in response. "Do you want this to be our little secret?"

"I don't care—it's not a big deal," she shrugged.

"So, if you're name isn't Arry, then what is it?" Gendry handed Arya the shirt he had took back off earlier to wipe her face. She dipped it in the creek as the spoke and Gendry stopped and waited for her to finish.

As she wrung the shirt out, she spoke, "It's Arya Stark." She got up and looked at Gendry as a huge smile enveloped his face and he laughed.

"You're the girl that beat the shit out of that Joffrey Baratheon kid," his eyes widened as he recognized who she was. "Holy shit. You're my hero—I hate that little shit."

Arya proudly grinned. "How do you know Joffrey?"

"The question is: who doesn't know Joffrey," he was still laughing about Joffrey getting beat up. "Well, at least, anyone who lives in King's Landing. He was always throwing his weight around because of who his father is. He came to my foster dad's shop once expecting to get his car fixed for free, and then throwing money at him to prove how 'superior' he was after he was told he had to pay." Gendry looked to be disgusted by the last part.

"He really is a fuckface and that's being nice," Arya wiped herself with the shirt again, and then handed it back to Gendry.

"Too nice," he agreed. "So, you being Arya Stark and going to school with Joffrey means that your dad is Robert Baratheon's new right hand man Eddard Stark?"

"Yup." Arya believed that they were getting close to their destination.

"If we were to compare this to ancient Westeros, you would be considered a lady," Gendry figured. "Should I be calling you my lady?" Arya could tell he was joking, but she didn't find it funny.

"Shut up," she pushed Gendry as he laughed.

"As my lady commands," he bowed and Arya pushed him so hard that he fell over, but it only made Gendry laugh even harder.

An hour later, Gendry and Arya had slowed down enough for Hot Pie to join them and Arya deduced that they were minutes away from the cabins. Arya's guess proved to be correct as the walked by the cabins to go check in with their group leader. They explained what happened and were exempted from their previous activity and the following one.

Arya ate dinner and went to bed. It may have not been the longest and most stressful day in her life, but she was tired nevertheless.

Weeks had passed and she was getting along with Gendry and Hot Pie just great, but especially Gendry. They developed instant banter with one another and could anticipate the each other's wants and needs. Mycah was her best friend, but this was different. Arya felt like she was truly herself around him. Everything everyone else judged her for, Gendry embraced. He never made her feel ashamed to be who she was or the things she liked.

When there was a break or their activities for the day was done, they would sit and talk to each other for hours on end. Sometimes they would go exploring and talk to each other. Often, Arya would hang out by the creek or in the rec room. They initially tried to hang out in each other's rooms, but were told that it was inappropriate.

"We should go swimming," Arya looked at the lake longing as they carried wood for the bon fire that night.

"I don't know how to swim," Gendry mentioned.

"I'll teach you," his friend offered. "It's easy once you get the basics down."

The following Saturday, Arya took Gendry to the lake and walked him into water that was deep enough to swim around, but shallow enough where he wouldn't drip. She explained to do with his hands, legs, head, and how to breathe.

"I'm going to stop if you keep laughing at me," Gendry warned as he splashed water at her.

"Stop being such a baby," she rolled her eyes and swam backwards as she watched Gendry. "If you didn't look so stupid as you swam, I wouldn't be laughing. Stop giving me material and start following my directions."

Gendry swam out a little further and pulled her under the water.

"Stop it, you big dofus," she struggled in Gendry's strong arms, but he wouldn't let her go.

"Words hurt, you know," Gendry said as he pulled her close. His expression was mischievous. "Say you're sorry."

"I'm not sorry," Arya stuck her tongue out.

"Okay, you asked for it." Gendry was about to pull her back down under the water again when she yielded.

"Okay, okay," she said quickly. "I'm sorry." Arya gave him a hug. "That you are such a bad swimmer."

"You know what, you little twerp," Arya playful screams was muted by the water.

Later on, Hot Pie asked why they didn't ask him to come, which Arya feel a little bad. The three of them had grown really close in a short time and, despite feeling a stronger connection with Gendry, she shouldn't have forgotten to ask him.

On Monday, they had to build a tower out of furniture. It had to be a certain height and it hand to stand longer than a minute.

As Hot Pie read the directions, he stammered. Gendry went over and snatched the paper from him and began to read. He had trouble as well.

"What," Arya said as she walked over. "You two can't read or something?"

After she took the paper and looked down to read it, she noticed Gendry's silence. Arya looked up at him and noticed he was bright red.

"Gendry…"

"I can read," he began. "It's just I have a problem with the big words is all." Gendry refused to look at Arya out of embarrassment. "I lived in the poorest part of King's Landing called Flea Bottom," he said quietly. "You either went to school or you didn't, but going to school meant you couldn't help your family make money, which meant that you didn't eat. I liked going to school, but I liked eating more, so I dropped out in the eighth grade. I had to help my foster dad."

Arya opened her mouth, but Gendry stopped her.

"Don't apologize to me," he said as he stared at his shoes. "I don't want it." Arya knew that he wasn't upset or mad at her, but she felt terrible.

"Gendry," she began again.

"And don't stop calling me stupid or idiot and anything else that insults my intelligence." He finally looked Arya in the eyes. "I know you don't say that to me because you mean it—you call everyone stupid, but me more so than others because you like me the most out of everybody." He thought about what he said for a moment. "Well, you don't like everyone you insult and call stupid, but I'm pretty sure that you like me. I know you consider me a friend."

"Gendry, I'm glad that you finally admitted how stupid you are," Arya gave him a tightlipped smile. She read the directions and told them what to do. After they finished the activity, she, Gendry, and Hot Pie walked to the lake together to swim. Gendry was doing way better than he did on Saturday. "I love books."

"You do," Gendry said slowly. He was curious as to why she made her remark.

"Yeah," she replied. Arya dipped her head in the water, and then brought it back above the surface. "I used to be involved in a lot of online book clubs and now I don't have anyone else to talk to. I don't like the people here besides you and Hot Pie. I have all these books in my room and it would be nice to discuss them with people that I like."

"Sure," Gendry agreed. He was too choked with emotion to say anything more. It was a subtle way to offer to be his reading tutor, but a gesture he appreciated nonetheless.

The summer was long and hot and when the end neared, it passed by too soon for Arya. Her activities got cut short for her class time, which wasn't the usual school setup like going from what class to the other. There were break in between and some were longer than others. She figured it resembled the class schedule of some college kids. The learning was very personalized and one on one since there weren't that many student. Arya enjoyed the teachers and the method in which they taught.

"Ugh," Gendry groaned in frustration as he slammed his book shut. Arya looked up and rolled her eyes.

"What is your problem?" She didn't look at Gendry as she spoke to him.

"That book is too hard," he declared and rested his hands in his hair.

"So, you aren't going to finish it, so we can discuss it later on?" Grey eyes met blue eyes.

"Cut the bullshit, Arya," Gendry said angrily. "I don't fucking understand this shit—it's too hard."

"Yeah, it's hard," Arya irritably agreed. "But, you complaining about it will only make it harder. Reading is not just about learning the words; it's about challenging yourself and expanding your vocabulary. I know you didn't think you were just going to pick up a book and instantly know the words."

"I want to be a mechanic—I don't need to know this shit. I know all of the words I need to know." He folded his arms and looked at the table in front of him.

"You don't have bigger dreams than being just some mechanic?" Arya sat her pencil down. "There's nothing wrong with that, but you can be a mechanic AND own your own business. You can be your own boss."

"You really think I'm smart enough to run my own business?" His expression softened.

"Of course, stupid," she picked up her pencil again.

Arya glared at him, until he opened his book and continued to read.

"Finish the chapter, and then go over your vocabulary list," she instructed. "Hot Pie should be here in ten minutes and we're going to have a spelling test when he gets here."

"Do I get a cookie if I get an A," Gendry smiled.

"Yup, and you get two if you get an A plus." The younger girl wiggled her eyebrows.

"Ooh," he leaned closer to his friend.

"I know, right," she mimicked his actions. "I'm such a nice person." Gendry shook his head in agreement. "Now, get back to work and worry about cookies later."

Gendry read in silence and wrote down words he didn't know or understand as Arya taught him when they first began to work together. Arya completed one of her school assignments just as Hot Pie entered the room.

With the motivation of cookies, Gendry aced his test. Hot Pie missed one, but Arya offered to give him both.

"No," Gendry said as he stared in offense. "You're supposed to be the hardnosed teacher—all or nothing. He is supposed get one hundred percent for both cookies like I did. And it's not like he doesn't have any cookies—he has one."

"He's right, Hot Pie," Arya shrugged. "Better luck next time." Hot Pie glared at Gendry who happily ate both of his cookies.

Gendry and Hot Pie were taking reading lessons from her because they were too embarrassed to ask the people in the program to enroll them in classes. They were already behind most of the other kids in learning since Gendry dropped out before his eighth grade year and Hot Pie dropped out when he was in sixth grade. Also, they were older as well. In addition to Gendry being 19, Hot Pie was 17. Neither one was expecting a full education, but they wanted to be better readers.

"Arya, what is your dream job," Gendry asked as he licked his fingers.

"It's nothing flashy like being a movie star or anything." Arya bit into her own cookie. "I want to be a cop."

"Really," Hot Pie blurted out.

"Yes, really," she replied. "They put their lives on the line to protect people. I've always wanted to be one of them every since I was a little girl."

"Well, I know that I'll be safer with you on the streets," Gendry warmly smiled at her as reached his hand across the table to squeeze her hand. "Officer Arya."

For the first time in Arya's blushed.

"Where are you going to go whenever you leave here," Gendry asked as he walked Arya back to her cabin. "You know, since you've been expelled from your last school in all." The tall boy elbowed her jokingly.

"Braavos," she answered. "The culture is way more relaxed and the education is great from what my parents tell me. It'll give me something different from Winterfell and better than King's Landing."

"Will you miss being away from your parents that long?" For a moment, the walked in silence before Arya responded.

"Yeah, but I have to learn to live on my own eventually." Gendry seemed to give her words some consideration.

Gendry pulled her into a bear hug after they approached her room. "Goodnight, Arya."

"Goodnight, Gendry." She waved as he walked backwards and waved back at her.

"My mistake," he said a little loudly. "I meant, officer Arya."

Arya didn't tear her eyes away from Gendry even as his form became smaller and smaller. When he disappeared, she wrapped her arms around her body and walked into her cabin.


	4. Blurry Lines

Arya landed on her feet, and then unhooked the ropes from around her body before taking off her helmet. Soon afterwards, she found her bottle of water and gulped the whole thing down in no time as she monitored Gendry descended the rock.

"You have about twenty more feet, Gendry," she projected to him. To encourage her friend, Arya began to clap and shout for him. "Woo!"

Gendry laughed, and then turned to face her. "Shut up. You're distracting me."

The shouting stopped, but Arya continued to clap. When Gendry reached the bottom, she gave him his water. Gendry unhooked himself and took off his helmet as he poured water on his body. Entranced by what she saw, Arya's eyes followed the water as it sluiced his skin. The water made his chiseled body glisten as it moved across his torso. Gendry began to stretch his muscles as Arya noticed how taut and prominent they were. He wore his shorts low on his waist and if they went down any further…Arya swallowed slowly.

Arya pulled her gaze away from Gendry's body and started putting items into a small backpack.

"Come on," she said as she put the backpack straps on her shoulder.

Gendry packed his things as well. "Okay, I'm ready."

"I believe we are in the lead," Arya announced as she looked around the forest. They were on an obstacle course through the woods and all of the young adults had been paired off. Of course, Arya and Gendry chose to be partners. Gendry looked at the map and turned at Arya.

As he spoke to her, he pointed to the paper, "This is the last place we have to go before we finish," he leaned over Arya's shoulder to look at the map as well.

Arya moved away from him ever so slightly, and then discussed strategy with him. "We should run the rest of the way," she thought aloud. "We'll get to the boat quicker and we can use that extra time to rest when we row across the lake if need be."

"I was thinking the same thing," Gendry concurred. "Pine trail will be the best route to take. Mostly everyone will avoid it because of the incline and rough surface."

The two went about their way as they ran to the lake taking Pine trail. Gendry had longer legs than Arya, but she could keep on with him. They were careful as they ran over the rocky surface and increased their stride when they approached the incline. Within 25 minutes, the lake appeared. Hurriedly, Arya and Gendry got into the boat and didn't bother to take their bags off as they rowed away quickly.

When they reached the sand, they jumped out of the boat and ran to the finished line. Excitedly, Arya and Gendry gave each other a high five before tightly hugging one another.

"Why does it surprise me that you two finished first," said a camp counselor named Francine. "It is almost unfair the way you two dominate these challenges."

"I know, right," Camden agreed. "If we didn't split you two up from time to time, you would always win them."

Arya and Gendry were notorious for how well they worked together. When they were paired, they always finished first and collected whatever prizes were given. If they were split up, they interchangeably finished one and second and sometimes third, but never any lower than that.

"We do always win the challenges when you guys don't split us up," Arya smirked as she stretched out her body. She went to lie down on the ground and Gendry went over to help her. He straddled her right leg while keeping her left straight and slowly pushing it towards her body. "Harder," she demanded in a soft tone.

"I will once you relax," Arya groaned when he pushed her leg further back. "Gods, I'm trying to loosen you up because you are so tense."

"No," she refuted. "You're afraid to break me because I'm so small. I can handle you, Gendry. We've done this a thousand times."

"I know," Gendry chuckled. "It's easy to forget how flexible you are." He let Arya's leg rest on his shoulder for a moment, before laying it on the ground and moving to stretch her other leg.

"Then stop forgetting," she slapped his on the arm. "You're the only one who knows how to stretch me out properly when you aren't taking it easy on me. Just because you are big, doesn't mean I can't handle you."

"I take it easy on you at first, so you can handle me when I stretch your muscles," Gendry said. "We both know how sore you get every time I am done with you."

"Have you ever heard me complain?" Gendry nodded no. "Then, stop taking it easy on me."

Camden started choking on his drink as Francine gave them a weird look.

"What?" Arya looked at Francine and the girl blushed embarrassedly before turning away.

"Nothing," she lied as a looked between her and Camden was exchanged.

After she was done being stretched by Gendry, and then returned the favor, Arya went to go take a shower. The water was steaming hot and she was in heaven. An abundance of soap and shampoo was lathered on her skin and in her hair and she washed all of the grime away.

Blissfully, she lay down on her stomach as she sniffed the fresh laundry after she got out of her shower. The clothes were so warm and smelled so nice. She couldn't imagine anything better at the moment—well, she could imagine something better. Quickly, the Stark girl threw on some clothes and went to look for Gendry.

He was walking to the cafeteria when Arya decided to sneak up on him and give him a hug. From time to time, Gendry would tell her how stealthy she was and that she moved without making noise. As Arya got closer and closer to him, a smile broke out on her face and she quickened her pace. When she was directly behind him, she wrapped her arms around Gendry and hugged him from behind.

"Gotcha, Gendry," she shouted. Gendry jumped in her arms and then tore Arya's arms from his body before putting space between them.

"Seven Hells, Arya," Gendry ran a hand through his hair.

"Did I scare you?" She teased as she grinned broadly.

"No," he answered.

"Yes, I did," Arya stuck her tongue out. "If I didn't you wouldn't have jumped."

"That's not why I jumped," the young man refuted.

"Then why?" She crossed her arms and waited for him answer so she could shoot it down.

"It's nothing," he denied as he tried to walk away, but Arya caught his arm. Although he was stronger than his friend, he chose not to pull away.

"It is something," she contradicted. "Tell me what it is."

Gendry struggled to find the words. "You're different," he provided vaguely.

"You think I've changed." Arya crossed her arms. "That's why you don't want me to touch you."

"Yes, you've changed." Gendry smiled in relief not knowing they were having two different conversations. "That's why I jumped."

"I'm confused; you were acting all normal and like we were best friends earlier and now you are telling me that I've changed and not to touch you," Arya shouted angrily. Gendry's eyes widened at the misunderstanding.

"NO, that not what I meant," he immediately denied. "You still are my best friend—that hasn't changed."

"Then what in the seven hells are you talking about?" Arya held her hands out in front of her in confusion.

"Why do you have to make this so hard!" Gendry paced back and forth.

"You're making this hard," she said incredulously.

"Arya," he called for her attention. Gendry snapped his fingers and pointed two of them to his eyes for Arya to follow. "You've changed," he said quietly as he eyes scanned her and his hand gestured towards her body.

Arya had been at Wholistic Core for a year and she looked different than when she first got there. Rather than her hair being an inch short, it now came to her chin and was styled in a bob. She was slightly taller, but her athletic physique remained and complemented her figure. Arya's face had filled out some, but not too much. Most importantly, she went from barely having any breast to having a b cup.

Her eyes had widened at the implication.

"I love being your friend," Gendry began. "But, it's distracting when you touch me, especially when you hug be from behind and your—you know—is on my back."

Arya didn't know what to say. "I don't touch you that much," she denied.

"Uh, yeah, you do," he contradicted. "But, usually, I'm prepared for it. And you lay on be a lot when we are alone. I really don't mind, but it can be a distraction sometimes. I know you don't try to have that impact on me and I try not to take it that way, but I'm still a guy, so my body is going to respond." He ran a hand through his hair. "I guess I wouldn't notice so much if you still wore your old clothes."

By her fifteenth birthday, Arya had outgrown the clothes she arrived with. When she went shopping, it was clear that her taste had changed as well. Her new items weren't overly feminine, but they were did accentuate her features in a favorable way. She now wore fitted shirts and tank tops. Her shorts hugged her skin comfortably and were mid thigh. Her pants no longer hid her figure, but highlighted it.

Time had been very favorable to Arya and, unsurprisingly, without her notice. Although she wasn't aware of her matured body, the guys at Wholistic Core clearly had paid attention.

It all made sense now…why guys who never uttered a word to her suddenly wanted to be her friend. They'd try to include themselves in the activities she did with Hot Pie and Gendry or talk to her, as she was on her way somewhere. There were even times where they'd invite her to join them to eat, play games, or small get-togethers. The logical conclusion would be that they were trying to be her friend, but Arya was never receptive to their attention when it became individualized or suggestive conversation about dating or hooking up. Shortly after that, the guys disappeared.

Arya never thought anything of it besides believing she wasn't entertaining or cool enough for them. It didn't bother her anyway because she enjoyed spending most of her time with Gendry and Hot Pie.

But, with Gendry's revelation about how her body did...things to him, that put everything into perspective.

And the things her mother tried to put into perspective. Shortly after Arya's sixteenth birthday, Catelyn tried to explain to her that her body was changing and Arya should be aware of the impression she gave the boys her age. Arya brushed her off and said that she didn't know what she was talking about—boys weren't interested in her and less interested in her body.

But, she couldn't be further from the truth. If even her own friend looked at her in a sexual manner and had to control his urges, her body had to be somewhat appealing like Gendry implied.

Unlike Gendry, a boy decided to let his urges fly wild and tried to kiss her.

Gendry watched as Arya paced back and forth as she ranted about the brave boy who dared to steal a kiss from Arya.

"Can you believe the nerve of him," Arya harshly whispered.

Her friend shook his head no in amusement.

"It's not funny, Gendry." It infuriated Arya that someone would try to kiss her without her consent. She wasn't even interested in dating, kissing, or anything else. If she wanted to kiss someone, she'd let him know.

"Yes, it is," he grinned at her while he sprawled across the loveseat.

Daggers were shot his way from Arya's eyes. "It's not like I'm pretty either. The only reason guys would want to kiss an ugly girl is to persuade to have sex."

"Excuse me?" There was a deep frown on Gendry's face. "Arya, I don't know told you that you were ugly, but they're flat out wrong."

"How about the whole entire city of Winterfell?" She looked at Gendry pointedly.

"Then the whole entire of city Winterfell is wrong," he said adamantly.

"Gendry, you don't have to defend me because you're my friend," she supplied, and then flopped on her bed. "It's nice that you'd say that to make me feel better, but it doesn't help. I'm ugly and I know it. Guys are only interested in me because they think I have a nice body."

Gendry got up off of the couch and sat next to Arya on her bed. He leaned over her as each arm was placed on a side of her body and said, "I can say with absolute certainty that even without looking at your body, your face is very attractive."

"Gendry," she groaned. Arya didn't want to hear this anymore.

"You remember what you told me about that Ned guy," he reminded. "That was before you…developed. And he wanted to kiss you."

"That was because we were drinking—he thought I was drunk," she retorted.

"You have an answer for everything." Gendry shook his head as Arya's grin.

"Okay," she sighed. "Even if guys find me attractive, that doesn't give them the right to put their mouths on me."

"You're right, it doesn't," he agreed. Arya rubbed his arms as she looked up at her best friend. "He was wrong for that."

"I've never thought about what my first kiss would be like, but I don't want it to be with some random guy who I don't even like." In thought, Arya bit her lip.

"I agree," he murmured.

Gendry didn't like the look in Arya's eyes when her gaze fell upon him.

"What?" He asked suspiciously.

"Kiss me," she grinned.

"No." Gendry tried to get up, but Arya held on tight to him.

"Come on, Gendry, I like you and you like me," she supplied.

"As friends," he nearly shouted.

Arya glared at him. "Shut up," she mouthed. Gendry wasn't supposed to be in her room. But, for the last few months, they've been sneaking into each other's rooms at night to hangout. "And who cares if it's just as friends. This is my first kiss—not yours. If I want it to be with a friend, so some guy I don't even like isn't the first, then that is my choice. You already had your first kiss with someone you wanted it to be and I want mine to be with you."

A telltale blush crept upon Gendry's face.

"No," Arya said in shocked. "You've never been kissed."

"There was never in girl I wanted to kiss," he said before giving the thought further consideration. "I mean, there were a few, but I didn't have a chance."

"So, that means…" Arya raised her eyebrows.

"It means that I never had sex either," Gendry mumbled as he hung his head in embarrassment.

Arya propped herself up on her elbows. "Gendry," she grabbed his face and forced him to look at her before running her fingers through his hair. "I'm your best friend; I'm not going to judge you for not having sex at a certain age." She hugged him, and then made her weight pull Gendry to the bed. She whispered in his ear, "Let me be your first kiss—it's better than someone you don't like."

Gendry turned to face her. "Arya, I'm twenty-one and you're sixteen. I'm five years older than you. That's illegal."

"One: It is not illegal," she denied. "Two: It's just a kiss. Three: And even if we did more, the age of consent is sixteen. Not only am I sixteen, I'm clearly consenting. Gendry, it's just a kiss between two friends; why are you being such a baby about this?"

Loudly, Gendry exhaled into the air as Arya saw defeat in his eyes. "Fine."

In anticipation, Arya's licked her lips and reached for Gendry. Gendry's forearm rested above her head as he sat the other one next to Arya's hip. Arya's breathing slowed in anticipation.

He placed a quick peck on her mouth.

"That's not a kiss," Arya cried in disbelief. "That's how you would kiss your family."

"Well, then how do you want me to kiss you," he asked, but it was clear that he wasn't looking for a real answer. "And why does it matter anyway if this is supposed to be a kiss between friends?"

Arya smacked her lips. "Because it does…I don't want the most memorable thing about my first kiss to be me asking my best friend to kiss me."

Gendry groaned, and then mumbled "fine" as he descended upon her mouth again.

Arya's heart dropped as she crossed the finish line; some groups finished before her and Gendry.

They'd place eighth.

"Seven hells," Arya swore as she threw her bag on the ground.

In frustration, she ran her fingers through her hair as she paced back and forth. As of lately, she and Gendry were experiencing a losing streak of sorts. For six races straight, they hadn't placed in the top three. Hell, they hadn't even cracked the top ten. The first time they'd lost, they'd finished thirteenth.

That came as a surprise to everyone.

Especially Arya, but Gendry wasn't shocked. He quietly walked away as other teams celebrated.

They weren't even working well with others, but it wasn't as bad as one another.

One of the purposes of the challenges was communication, which Arya and Gendry were failing miserably at. They weren't talking. Sure, they'd speak to one another and have basic conversation, but they weren't effectively communicating and, consequently, they struggled to perform well. Stuff that used to come so easily to them eluded them. They couldn't agree on anything: what to do, how to do it, and when to do it.

Arya crouched down and rested her elbows on her knees and held head in her hands.

Everything was all fucked up.

"Well, at least we finished in the top ten this time," Gendry's voice said from above her. "Maybe we'll get out of our rut soon."

Arya looked at him, and then stood up.

"I doubt it," she replied, and then walked away.

Gendry clenched his jaw, and then kicked the ground.

Later on that day, Arya decided to take a swim at the rec center. She needed to work off some steam from today's loss and that seemed to be the best way.

She just didn't understand it: why weren't she and Gendry communicating well. They used to talk so easily and, sometimes, they didn't even need to say a word. Now when they spoke, it was as if they were speaking in two different languages.

But, deep down, Arya knew. It was impossible to disregard something so obvious, but she was unable to be that honest with herself.

Arya decided to take the back door out of the rec center basement. As she ascended the stairs, Arya saw Francine gesture to Hot Pie so that she could talk to him. Abruptly, Arya stopped where she was, and then took went back down a few steps. By nature, she was noisy; especially when it came to people she cared about, so yes, she was eavesdropping.

"What's going on with Arya and Gendry," Francine inquired.

"I don't know," Hot Pit, admitted honestly. Arya could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

"You don't know if they've had any disagreements or falling outs," she questioned. "You haven't seen anything."

"No," he said. "It was like one day everything was fine and the next, something wasn't quite right between them."

"What do you mean," she asked.

"To be honest, I don't know, but it was a super weird. Arya and Gendry always have little arguments, you know, and not to say that they'd argued or anything because, like I said, I don't know, but it felt real and serious this time…whatever it was that they'd gotten into it over. And it's like, Gendry wants to talk about it or, wanted to, but Arya always shut him down, so he just doesn't even try anymore. And I don't know whose fault it is or if it's anyone's fault, but they just don't talk like they used to."

"Really," Francine said.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "And like I said, it's weird because they still spend most of the time together. I mean, they talk, but they don't talk if that makes any sense."

"It does," the older woman assured. "So, you haven't said anything to them about it?"

"No," he stated. "At first, I thought that they'd get over it and make up…well, I hoped. That's just how it's always worked and I don't know how to make them talk. Even though we're close friends, Arya and Gendry have always been closer ever since day one. They understand each other better and, whatever issues they had, they always sorted that out on their own. But, things were never this bad; they argued over petty stuff and would make up a second later. But, I don't even know if whatever they're going through is petty or not because they don't talk about it."

"And things aren't getting better," she provided.

"No," he said, sadly. "It's like it's getting worse and worse every day; I don't even know why they even bother to hang around each other anymore."

"That's unfortunate," Francine said as sincerity laced her voice. "Arya and Gendry used to be our shining example of trust and communication and now they're one of our worst." Arya's stomach dropped at Francine's words. "Well, thanks for talking to me, Hot Pie."

"No problem," he said.

"Do you want to talk about it," Gina asked, as she titled her head to the side and worriedly stared at her patient. Gina was Arya's mandatory therapist, which Wholistic Core assigned to every camper.

Arya gave her an expressionless stare. "Talk about what?"

"About what's been bothering you these past few weeks," she answered. "I'm concerned about you Arya. You're a very lively and passionate young woman and I haven't seen that in a while. The change in you has been almost abrupt."

Although therapy at Wholistic Core was mandatory for every camper, Arya enjoyed going. It may have been her job, but Gina seemed genuinely interested in Arya and what she had to say; she wasn't judgmental and very supportive as well.

"Does it have anything to do with Gendry," she inquired.

Arya gave her a startled expression.

"Ah…it does," she said, and then jotted a down a note.

"How did you know?"

"I get paid to be observant," she replied. "Even if I weren't, it really wouldn't have taken a therapist to see the major collapse in your relationship with Gendry. He went from being the leading man in every story to you not speaking about him at all. The abrupt change was disorienting and set off some alarms. Then it became even more obvious that you were actively avoiding any reference to him, which set off the rest. Add in your changed behavior and I'd have to be incompetent at my job not to put two and two together."

"Is it really that obvious," Arya asked in disbelief.

Gina gave Arya a small smile. "Arya, I could grab a random guy off of the street and he'd be able to tell that something was wrong between you and Gendry in less than a second; it's THAT obvious."

Arya looked past Gina and at the wall behind the older woman.

"Arya, keep in mind that it is my job as your therapist to look out for your mental well being. If do not want to talk about this, we won't. If you feel uncomfortable with the topic, we can talk about something else," she softly explained. "But, I do believe that it'd be beneficial for us to discuss your broken relationship with Gendry."

"Why?" Arya snapped her head to look at Gina.

"Why what?" Gina crossed her legs, and then rested her hands on her lap.

"Why would it be beneficial for me to talk about him?" Arya's defiant nature was making itself known and Gina picked up her notebook and scribbled an observation.

She stared at the young woman for a moment, and then wrote another one. "Because," she began, "Despite the strong façade you put on, it's apparent that you're falling apart and you miss him. It's clear that whatever happened between you two, you don't want to deal with it, but unlike other problems you've ignored before in the past, this one won't go away. You can't wish it away; what happened, happened. The question is: how will you deal with it? Will you continue to let it eat away at you or will you grab the problem by its horns and made it submit."

Gina's assessment of Arya's mindset and behavior felt frighteningly accurate.

"Gendry and I had sex," she blurted out.

At the revelation, Gina stopped writing in her notebook. After she processed the information, she lifted her head and looked at Arya, and then raised an eyebrow.

"You are by far the most intriguing patient I've ever had," she stated. "Of the many scenarios that crossed my mind, sex wasn't one of them. At the most, I expected you to say you two kissed."

"We did," Arya said.

"If you two didn't, I would've been very concerned," Gina admitted.

Arya shook her head. "No, I meant that it was originally supposed to be just a kiss," she explained.

For a moment, the wheels seemed to roll in Gina's head, and then she spoke, "Really? What initiated the kiss?"

"Some stupid guy," Arya began. "He tried to kiss me and I freaked out. I didn't want my first kiss to be by some strange guy I didn't even know that well. And when I was ranting to Gendry about it, the idea to have him kiss me popped into my head. If Gendry kissed me, it'd be on my terms. So, I asked him and he agreed. Well, not right away, but I convinced him."

As if writing a timed essay for an AP exam, Gina scribbled furiously. Arya could see the wheel's rolling in Gina's mind. The older woman's eyes switched back and forth between Arya and the notebook before she jotted down her final note.

"So, why Gendry," Gina finally asked. "Why did you ask him to kiss you?"

Apparently, Arya's confusion was easily read on her face.

"Why not Hot Pie," Gina suggested.

Arya widened her eyes, and then shook her head no at the ridiculous suggestion. "He's Hot Pie," she weakly offered. "I asked Gendry because I trust him."

"But, not Hot Pie," Gina countered.

"No—well, I trust him too, but it's different with Gendry," Arya defended.

"Why," Gina challenged. "Why is it different? Why do you trust Gendry more? Hot Pie is your best friend too, so why didn't you ask him? According to you, you trust him as well just not as much. Do you think he would've told anyone?"

"No," Arya almost shouted. "I'm not saying that—I didn't say that."

"Then what are you saying?" Gina sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Help me understand so I can help you."

"I don't know," Arya shrugged. "Earlier in the week, Gendry had admitted he was attracted to my body," she revealed. "And when were discussing Jacob, the guy who tried to kiss me, I was feeling insecure about my looks and Gendry was just so reassuring. And letting me know that he found my looks attractive as well and I—I just asked him to kiss me because it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"You regret asking him to kiss you," Gina asked carefully.

"Well, if we didn't, then we wouldn't have had sex," Arya explained. "And it wouldn't be like this."

"Like what," the therapist inquired.

Arya shook her head at the loss of words. "Like, like we can't even talk anymore and when we do it's awkward and forced."

"Was it awkward and forced that night it happened?" With a trained eye, Gina tried to gauge Arya's reaction. The older woman watched what Arya said and didn't say.

"No," she admitted. "We were comfortable and just let stuff happened naturally."

Nervously, Arya rubbed her hands.

"So, you two kissed and got carried away," Gina speculated.

"Not exactly." Arya shifted uneasily. "When he kissed me the first time…"

"The first time," Gina interrupted; as she looked up from her notepad.

"Yeah, the first time," Arya repeated. "The first time wasn't a real kiss. Gendry just gave me some bullshit ass peck on the lips. I know it was supposed to be a kiss between friends, but come on, it was my first kiss, I was expecting more than that."

"Well, you definitely got it." At this, Arya blushed. "So, I'm guessing you made him kiss you again?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "And that is when things…escalated." Arya looked indecisive about how much she wanted to tell Gina, which the woman picked up.

"Arya, you don't have to tell me more than necessary," she explained. "Like I said, I want you to feel comfortable…and ready. But, I also don't need to know more than you two had sex. That statement is sufficient on its own."

"I know," Arya said. "But, you also said it would be beneficial for me to talk about and it includes sex as well."

Gina looked at Arya in surprise.

"Well then, start whenever you are ready."

Gendry groaned, and then mumbled "fine" as he descended upon her mouth again. Arya grabbed his head with one hand and his hip with another. Experimentally, their lips moved against one another to test out what felt right. Gendry slightly moved his head to the side to get a better angle and Arya noticed how Gendry's goatee lightly tickled her face. Recently, he decided to grow it to try something new. At first, she hated it, but it grew on her over time without her noticing it. Now, she liked how it felt against her skin.

Slowly, they broke apart. Gendry's lips hovered above Arya's as he looked at her intently. She felt his warmed breath caress her skin while her hand tightened on his hip.

"That wasn't so bad, was it," Arya whispered, as she stared at his lips.

In the deepest pits of Arya stomach, the butterflies did a ritualistic dance to the unfamiliar feeling that had suddenly taken ahold of her. Arya's throat tightened as she tried to understand what was going on with her.

"No," he agreed, and then after a moment of hesitation, captured her lips again.

At this, Arya's nerves calmed as Gendry slid his tongue into her mouth. The sensation was new and foreign, but it also felt nice and warm. She liked how it felt against her own. In the back of her mind, the rational part of Arya wanted her to stop and ask Gendry what they were doing. It was supposed to be one kiss—one REAL kiss—and that was all. And yet, she couldn't find herself to care to ask as Gendry deepened the kiss and his lips made her body feel things it never felt before.

Without realizing it, Arya had maneuvered body under Gendry's in order to move her leg so that she could cradle his hips between her legs. Unintentionally and, in a minuscule fashion, they began to grind their hips against one another. The longer their kiss wore on, the more their grinding intensified. A throbbing sensation grew between Arya's legs as she wrapped her legs around Gendry's waist. It was clear that Gendry was just as aroused as Arya; she felt his hardened manhood as she grinded herself wantonly against him.

Desiring to feel his skin, any piece of his skin, Arya slipped her hands under his shirt and rubbed his back absentmindedly. Gendry was briefly distracted by her touch before he dipped his hips and made Arya moan into his mouth. Gendry took this opportunity to open Arya's mouth wider, which didn't take much coaxing as she hungrily kissed Gendry back.

Slowly, as Gendry kissed Arya, he moved her hands above her head, and then held both of them with one hand. He then raised her shirt up and Arya's stomach jumped when he rested his cool hand on top of her stomach. Arya had no clue if she should feel worried that anticipation, not fear, coursed through her body. Or the fact that she didn't want it to stop—she wanted more.

She wanted him.

Hesitantly, Gendry's hand slid down her stomach and stopped at her shorts. With unsure eyes, Gendry looked at her.

Arya slightly lifted her hips and nodded.

His hands shook as he unbuttoned, and then unzipped her shorts. Carefully, he picked up Arya's hips as he pulled them down. Without a second thought, he tossed them over his shoulders, and then leaned in to kiss Arya. As they kissed, Gendry caressed her thighs. Arya wrapped her leg around his waist and pulled him closer. In a reluctant manner, Gendry pulled away and kissed her neck, then her collarbone, between her breasts, and down her stomach. Turned on by the attentions of his mouth, Arya moaned as she gently rested a hand on his head.

Even the kissing noises he made as he trailed kisses down her body got her excited.

Gendry then leaned back on his legs and picked up on of Arya's leg and kissed her calf muscle. His next kiss was placed on her knee, and then her inner thigh. Gently, his teeth bit her skin, and then feathered kisses closer and closer to her crotch, which frustrated Arya because she knew he wasn't actually going to touch her vagina…yet. After a while, he dropped her leg, and then showered the same attention to her other leg.

"Gendry," she whined.

Arya just wanted the teasing to end.

"Gendry," she repeated through clenched teeth when the initial pleas fell on deaf ears. She was on edge and just wished he would ease her tension between her legs.

He grinned at her.

"Be patient," he said in a low, authoritative tone that turned Arya on even more.

He kissed the crotch area on her panties and Arya simultaneously gasped and jumped at the touch of his lips through the thin garment. Gendry kissed above the panty line as he looped his fingers inside the top of her underwear and slowly pulled them down.

Her panties were thrown on the floor.

It felt unusual for the cold air to hit her moist nether lips, but the thought immediately escaped her mind when Gendry inserted a finger between her legs. Slowly, he moved the digit in and out of her as he focused on her pleasure.

Appreciatively, Arya moaned.

At Arya's favorable reaction, Gendry inserted another finger to which she opened her legs wider as she watched. The second finger heightened her pleasure and her breathing hitched. Arya grabbed his hand and tried to pull him close to take him in deeper.

"Be patient," he repeated a second time.

Arya groaned in frustration.

Due to her impatience, Gendry added a third and Arya just about lost her mind.

"Oh my Gods," she said breathily. "Oh my Gods."

Firmly, Gendry held her hips down with one hand as he stroked Arya. She excitedly gasped at the increased friction as she shut her eyes and whipped her head to the side.

"Gendry," she cried out.

His cock hardened at the way Arya said his name. It was already semi-hard, but Arya's gasps and how she called out to him sounded so hot. She was really into what he was doing. Gendry thought it would've been bad since he had no idea what he was doing; everything he was doing with Arya now came from all of the porn he's seen over the years.

Gendry was becoming even harder at the wetness between her legs. It was so slick and moist and he just wanted to take his dick out and slide into her. But, he didn't think she wasn't ready for that. They had already gone too far as it was and he didn't want to cross that line and have her hate him for it. Gendry decided that he'd finished her off first, and then rub one out after he went back to his room. He was a little insecure about doing that sort of thing next to her and he didn't want Arya to feel pressured to reciprocate.

Just as Gendry increased his speed to make Arya cum, he was curious as to how she tasted. Who knew the next time when this would happen again or if? Maybe it was selfish, but he decided to capitalize on the moment and put his head between her legs.

Arya slightly jumped at the unexpected sensation, but enjoyed the change of pace. For a guy with no sexual experience, Gendry sure as hell knew what he was doing and came off very confident and assertive. She liked it.

Gendry alternated with having his tongue use broad strokes and sucking on her clit as he grabbed her legs and pushed them close to her chest. Momentarily, he picked up his face, and then looked at her before giving her vagina a kick peck and winked. Arya would've laughed if she weren't so on the edge like she was.

Delicately, Gendry lowered one of Arya's legs as his tongue's strokes became even firmer. Although mostly distracted by Gendry's talent at eating out, Arya looked down and saw Gendry jerking off. She couldn't actually see his penis that well since they were still in his shorts, but Arya knew what he was doing. Any other thought on the topic erased when Gendry inserted his fingers back in her as it worked side by side with his tongue.

Unexpectedly, Arya felt her orgasm overcome her.

"Oh—Oh," Arya began. "Gen—oh m…" the rest of Arya's statement was cut off as she silently cried out at her climax. Gendry continued to lick and rub as she rode out her orgasm.

Contently, Arya sighed as she faced Gendry with closed eyes. That was truly amazing.

As she basked in the afterglow of her orgasm, Arya heard Gendry zip up his pants.

Quickly, she opened her eyes. "What are you doing?"

Confused at her question and tone, Gendry shrugged. "Zipping up my pants," he said as he buttoned them.

"No shit," she said dismissively. "Why?"

"You came," he said as if it was the most obvious answer.

"And you didn't," she retorted.

Gendry's eyes balked at her statement. "Oh no, Arya, you don't have to do that; I'm fine, really. I can finish myself off later on."

"What," Arya's tone took on an edge. "You don't want me to touch you?"

"What?" Gendry was in disbelief. With Arya, it could go from zero to sixty in a second flat. He had no clue why she'd think that. "Arya, you've got to be kidding me; you're fucking sexy. You touching me would be the hottest thing ever."

"Then take your shorts off," she demanded. "It's only fair. You took mine off."

Gendry looked at Arya and saw that she wore her shirt and not shorts or panties.

"Arya, I don't want you to feel pressured to do this," he explained.

Arya ignored his words as she scooted closer to the edge of the bed and pulled Gendry closer. "As if anyone could make me feel pressured to do anything," she replied. "Do you want me to touch you?"

Gendry sighed. "Arya…"

"Gendry," she interrupted. "Yes or no?"

At her question, the he nodded yes.

"Then stop making this so difficult," she said as she looked up at Gendry. Arya then looked at his shorts and saw the imprint of his erection. Slowly, she traced the outline of cock as Gendry involuntarily jerked his hips. Carefully, she put a little pressure on his erection, which made him groan.

"Arya," he whimpered.

She widely grinned at him.

The imprint of his cock looked massive and Arya unbuttoned, and then slowly unzipped his shorts. She pulled down his shorts and Gendry stepped out of them when they hit the floor. Arya then pulled his down his boxer briefs and visibly balked.

Uncertainly, she stared at Gendry. She didn't plan to have sex with him, but he could hurt someone with that thing. The most she was going to do was take him in her mouth, but Arya was having serious second thoughts about that.

"Is something wrong?"

Gods, that thing was longer than her face.

"No," she lied, and then moved to the middle of the bed. "Sit down." She patted the bed and Gendry obeyed.

Arya watched as Gendry's cock bobbed at movement. Not only was it long, it was wide as well. She'd seen penises before, but they were never that imposing.

What did she just get herself into?

Mentally, Arya gathered herself, as she reached into her nightstand and pulled out a bottle of lotion. "Show me how you liked to be touched," she said as she handed him the bottle.

After Gendry squirted the lotion in his hand, he lathered his cock a bit, and then held the base as he firmly stroked himself. In concentration, he closed his eyes and threw his head back. Intently, Arya paid close attention to what Gendry did and the reaction that coincided with his touches. As she studied him, her unease gradually washed away. Gods, it turned Arya as she watched Gendry touch himself and the pleasure it clearly gave him. She wanted to give him that as well. If it was even possible, he was more erect and, although she was still a little nervous due to his size; Arya was now ready to tackle the challenge.

Softly, Arya rubbed his leg as she watched him and moistness accumulated between her legs at the noises he made. When Arya's anxiety left completely, she inched her hand towards his cock until it touched his dark, thick pubes, and then rubbed the base of his cock with her knuckle.

Now, she was intrigued.

Abruptly, Gendry stopped as opened his eyes. "Arya," he gasped.

"I think I got the gist of it," she assured as she swatted his hand away. Arya picked up the bottle of lotion and squirted some in her hand and grabbed him. She could barely fit his cock in her hand. For a moment, she struggled to stroke him the way he liked, but then found a rhythm after successfully mimicking Gendry's earlier actions, which made Gendry's hips thrust into her hand and his breathing pick up.

Due to basic sex education, Arya knew that Gendry was uncircumcised. As she rubbed his cock, the way the skin moved, captivated her. She found it both weird and fascinating. It was velvety, but the organ underneath was rock solid. Curiously, Arya pulled the foreskin down. Up and down she moved the foreskin as if she were trying to understand it. Arya then looked closely at his penis to examine it. There were prominent veins on his penis and she used her finger to trace it with her other hand.

"Arya," he choked out.

She then took his balls in her hand and carefully cupped them; they were slightly warm and heavy.

"Fuck," Gendry grunted.

Arya held the base of his cock with one hand as she sped up her pace. She heard his breathing increase before she drastically slowed down and took the head of Gendry's cock in her mouth.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit," he chanted as he clutched the sheets.

For a few seconds, Arya sucked the head of his cock before licking his shaft. Taking a penis in her mouth was a strange experience, but oddly enjoyable as well. It made Arya feel powerful. Although Gendry hadn't been in her mouth that long, it felt like her was at her mercy.

Only for a moment, she was hesitant about taking more of Gendry in her mouth, but she couldn't turn down the challenge. She was going to prove that she could take all of him, well, most. There was no way she was going to fit all of Gendry in her mouth and she wasn't going to try either.

Arya positioned herself between Gendry's legs and grabbed the sheet and wiped the excess lotion off of his penis. After she finished, she slipped his cock back in her mouth, and then placed her hand right below her mouth. In unison, she moved both her hand and mouth as she tried to take as much of Gendry as she could. She heard Gendry's head hit the backboard as he groaned in pleasure.

"Just…just," he stuttered. "Make your grip a little tighter," he helpfully suggested.

As instructed, Arya tightened her grip. "Like this," she asked, making sure she was stroked him to his liking.

Gendry placed his hand over hers, and then squeezed her hand to show her what he liked. "Like this."

After Gendry removed his hand, Arya's grip didn't loosen and she went back to sucking his cock and she stroked him. Arya rotated between sucking the head of his cock and putting pressure on it with her hand.

Gently, he rested a hand on her head as he watched her head bob up and down. It was just so fucking hot for Gendry watching her blow him. Despite her inexperience, the blowjob was pretty enjoyable, which was in part due to her enthusiasm. The other parts were the experience itself and how hot it was for his cock to slide in and out of her mouth. A mischievous glint entered Arya's eyes as she licked Gendry's shaft.

Gendry penis slid out of her mouth as Arya raised herself up on her hands, crawled forward, and straddled Gendry. His cock stood erect between them.

Tenderly, Arya deeply kissed Gendry.

"Take off your shirt," she said against him mouth as slipped her hands under his shirt.

Gendry looked at her questioningly. "Arya?"

"Do you find me attractive, Gendry," she asked, as she stared him deeply in the eyes.

Gendry swallowed.

"Yeah," he choked out.

Arya licked her lips.

"Do you want to fuck me?" She tucked a strand of her behind her ear as she whispered in his. Seductively, she nibbled on his ear and Gendry groaned before he nodded. "Say it. Say, 'Yes, I want to fuck you.'"

"Yes, I want to fuck you," he parroted.

"Good," she grinned, and then moved to sit on his thighs. "Now, take off your shirt," she demanded. Arya pulled up his shirt and Gendry helped her get it off. They then discarded her shirt as it joined the other pieces of clothes on the floor. Expertly, Arya unclasped her bra and threw it to the side.

Arya rose up on her knees and grabbed Gendry's shoulders and balanced herself. Gendry placed one hand on her hip and the other on his cock and steadied it as Arya impaled herself on it.

A slight cry of pain escaped her lips.

"I'm okay," she assured to Gendry's worried gaze. "You're just very big and I have to get used to you." Arya let her body get used the foreign organ in her body before she moved up and down on the first three inches. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and moaned. Gradually, she took more and more of Gendry as her body accommodated itself to his length and girth.

"You okay," he asked after Arya took all of him. She nodded yes, and then began to rock her hips back and forth.

"Fuck," Gendry practically shouted. It was an almost indescribable feeling when Arya's vagina sheathed his cock. She was so unbearably tight and warm. Gods, he was ready to lose it.

Arya exhaled as she tried to focus on anything except the pain. It wasn't all pain or mostly, but it was enough to distract her. She wondered how long it would take for that to pass and so she could fully enjoy herself.

"You better not cum," she threatened when she looked at Gendry's face.

"I'm not," he said defensively, and then kissed her. Gendry read the slight distress on her face, which concerned him. "Let's get you on your back; it'll be easier that way."

"I doubt it," Arya commented, but she allowed Gendry to do as he suggested.

In retrospect, it turned out to be a better idea. Gendry was able to control the pace better and stretch her out properly. After about five minutes, Arya no longer felt any pain. Eagerly, she wrapped her arms and legs around Gendry as he moved slowly within her. Gendry gave her his full length as he gently slammed into her.

Wantonly, Arya spread her legs widely to encourage Gendry to go deeper.

"Fuck, Arya," he groaned, and then pushed her legs into the bed as he pumped into her with measured strokes.

Arya watched as Gendry disappeared into her and she couldn't believe she was taking him so well or at all really. This honestly wasn't what she was expecting when she asked him to kiss her or to give her a real kiss. Hell, even she decided to blow him, it wasn't in her plans for him to penetrate her.

Carefully, Gendry positioned Arya on her side and entered her again. She gasped at his re-entrance and how the pleasure seemed to change, in a good way, with the new position. Gently, his knee nudged her leg to she could lift it higher and she moaned into the sheets when she took all of him again. Arya enjoyed the intensity of their encounter and her pleasure. As he penetrated Arya, Gendry rested a his hand on her hip and his forearm above her head, and then whispered into her ear:

"Are you still okay," he asked in a low, concerned tone.

"Uh huh," she said almost incoherently. Arya moved her hips back against Gendry and met him thrust for thrust. As Gendry pulled her up on her knees, Arya propped herself on her elbows without a break in rhythm. She never knew how hot the sound of slapping flesh was until now and, unintentionally, she pushed back harder against Gendry. His hands involuntarily gripped her waist tightly as he matched her pace.

Unexpectedly, Gendry leaned back on his legs and pulled Arya up with him.

"Shit—fuck, holy hell, Gendry," Arya sobbed delightfully. Gendry held Arya against his chest and he hooked his arms under hers. Unrelentingly, he drilled into her. "Gods!"

"You want to sit on it," he whispered in her ear. "You want to ride it?"

"Yeah," she moaned. Gendry slowly pulled out of her and lied on his back.

"Come here," he gestured as he gazed at Arya.

Arya threw a leg over his body and straddled him. This time around, she slid down on his cock easily.

Lightly, she rested her hands on his chest as she sank down on Gendry and took him as deep as possible. Simultaneously, the two groaned at the same time. Although taking him was easier than the first time, she had to get used to the position again. Once she did, Arya rocked her hips back and forth. Gods, she loved the feeling of Gendry inside her. She felt comfortably full and it was so amazing. Arya let herself get lost to the rhythm as her hips moved on their own accord. Her legs started to ache, but she didn't care, she was going to ride Gendry until her legs gave out.

Feather light kisses were placed on her neck as Gendry's hand ran up and down her back. Arya grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. After she intently stared at him briefly, Arya leaned her forehead against him as she felt her orgasm build. Gendry sensed both her fatigue and her nearing climax due to the uneven rhythm and her increased breathing.

Firm hands grabbed her thighs as Gendry picked Arya up and held her against the wall. He pounded into her without abandon. High-pitched cries came from Arya's throat as her nails embedded in his back and scratched it.

Gendry kissed her to mute her cries when she came.

When Gendry was through with her, Arya was a heap of bones on the bed. Tiredly, she stared at him as he stroked his cock to cum. Arya struggled to get up as she draped herself on the side on Gendry's body and leaned her head on his shoulder. She placed on Gendry's cock, above his own hand, and moved her hand up and down in rhythm with him. After a few moments, a couple grunts escaped his throat cum shot onto his stomach.

Wordlessly, the two friends stared at each other. Arya contently looked at her best friend. What just happened between them was unbelievable. She knew sex could be great, but to actually experience and her first time? Most of the stories she heard it was either bad or okay when both parties were beginners, but for her, it was phenomenal.

Arya couldn't wait to do it again. Of course, it wouldn't be tonight, she could barely move let alone muster the energy to fuck Gendry senseless again…or be fucked senseless again.

This change in their friendship was interesting.

At this thought, Arya stomach tightened.

Tonight was great, but what if that was only tonight? What if this change between them led to something worse and ruined them? Arya's heard that sex changed many relationships for the worse and she couldn't lose Gendry because of one night. He was her best friend. He meant the world to her and she didn't know what she'd do if they weren't close anymore.

This was a bad idea.

A very bad idea.

"Hey, Arya," Gendry said softly, as he interrupted her thoughts. "I'm going to get dressed and leave. It's super late," he informed.

Arya nodded in disagreement. "No, stay here. Like you said, it's late. Go to sleep: I'll wake you up an hour before the wake up call," she offered.

"Are you sure," he asked unsurely.

"Yeah," she confirmed.

Gendry smiled at her. "Thanks." He got out of bed and put on his boxer briefs, and then settled comfortably under the covers with her.

Arya thought was acting irrational and get over it by the morning. But, when Gendry crept out of her window 5:30 in the morning, her fears were heightened. She hadn't gotten any sleep all night as she thought of everything that could go wrong.

As Arya took a shower, a hand went to touch her vagina. It slightly ached along with other parts of her body. Scenes from last night rushed through her mind along with her fears that manifested themselves in her after their encounter was over.

A knot formed in her throat as she tried to dismiss her anxiety, but it only became stronger. She couldn't lose Gendry. She wouldn't lose Gendry. They could pretend like last night never happened and everything would be fine.

Right?

"Just to make sure I understood you correctly," Gina began as she looked at her notepad in confusion. "You're telling me that you pretended the night that occurred between you and Gendry never happened in order to prevent from losing him, which resulted in ruining your friendship with him to the point that you two have difficulty talking?"

"Correct," she confirmed.

Gina blew out a puff of air. "I'm just going to be blunt here with a dash of unprofessional, but you do know that logic is majorly flawed, right?"

"In retrospect, yes," she agreed embarrassedly.

"Arya, we are running short on time," Gina informed, as she looked at her watch. "But, I'm going to give you some advice, which goes against our patient-therapist dynamic of letting you reach your own conclusions and solutions." Gina leaned forward and spoke in a serious, authoritative tone. "You have the compulsive need to control everything and have it happen on your terms and life doesn't always happen that way. Trying to force its hand only makes it worse. Rather than talking to Gendry and discussing the very big change in your friendship, you took it upon yourself and decided to pretend it never happened—never mind how he felt. Have you even spoke to him about that night?"

"No," she admitted.

"Has he ever brought it up," Gina inquired, despite knowing the answer.

"Yes," she said.

"And you shut him down," she asked.

"Yes."

"Do you see the problem here," Gina rhetorically asked. "You and Gendry's relationship was based upon openness and communication and you shut both of them down when you decided you knew what was best without consulting him. You refused to acknowledge that night and let him speak about it. How do you think that makes him feel, Arya? All throughout that night you reassured him that you wanted to have sex with him and even initiated some of it, but then the next day and all of the subsequent days, you've pretended it didn't happen. Have you ever wondered that he may blame himself? That perhaps you did feel pressured to have sex with him, but was afraid to say no? Or that it was so bad that you don't want to talk about it?"

"But, that's not true," Arya exclaimed.

Gina shrugged. "But, Gendry doesn't know that, does he? All he has are his thoughts and the fact that you won't even talk about that night." After letting Arya marinate in her words for a bit, Gina said, "Your ill advised actions says that Gendry is important to you, your camp counselors concerned discussions with me about you and Gendry says that as well, my observations also supports the importance of Gendry's friendship and the influence he has over you, and most importantly, your own words. So, rather than letting your fears of losing him conquer you, apologize to him and explain that you were afraid. I know that you'll get a better outcome because the path you chose to go down hasn't prevented anything—more like escalated it."

Arya thought about Gina's words.

"But, what about the sex," Arya asked.

"What about it," the older woman looked confused.

"What if we had sex again…what if I want to?" Arya nervously bit her lip. "I'm not ready to date?"

Her therapist smiled at her.

"And you don't have to," she answered. "The only thing that matters is that you two WANT to have sex and that both of you are comfortable with whatever happens during these encounters." Gina looked at her notes. "Arya, do you know what I gathered from your story?"

"No," Arya stared at her therapist curiously.

"That your trust in Gendry is so deep, you not only asked him to be your first kiss, you gave yourself to him willingly and without fear; you craved to explore your sexuality with him. Do you know how hard that is even with adult women? So, if you trust him with those two very big things, why couldn't you trust him to maturely deal with the consequences of that night?"

Arya rubbed her palms nervously. "I—I don't know."

"Because you're afraid of what you can't control," she supplied. "Arya, if you want to have sex with Gendry, have sex with him. Not only is it natural, it's healthy to explore your sexuality with someone you trust and enjoy being with—it doesn't have to be anything more than that. You don't have to date him. Not many girls your age have someone like that in their life and, consequently, end up having bad sexual experiences and overall troubling experiences with sex as they grow older."

At this, Arya nodded that she understood.

"But, I cannot stress how much you need to repair your relationship with him first before you try to get him out of his pants again, Arya," she said.

Arya held the tree as she stretched her calf muscles.

Twentieth place?

For fucks sakes!

Deeply, Arya breathed as she leaned against the tree. Talking to Gendry was harder than she thought. Despite her realization of why their relationship was sour, talking to her best wasn't any easier; in fact, it was so much harder. Arya was ashamed admit that it was her fault why they weren't communicating and failing at activities they used to excel at. She was the one being stupid.

And if it were even possible, the truth made them perform worse at the challenges. Well, it made her worse, which didn't make any sense. Perhaps it was because Arya was too busy overthinking everything and not trusting her own judgment. But, then again, her faulty judgment was what got them here. Even now, she doubted herself. She seriously just needed to talk to Gendry and get it over with. What was the worst that could happen considering that she already lived through it?

Arya raised her head when she heard Gendry's voice. He laughed audibly at some joke or shared joke as the group walked towards his cabin. Gods, it's been so long since she's seen him smile and even longer since he's laughed. He looked genuinely happy unlike the times they spent together. Arya hated herself for making him so miserable because of her own inability to properly address what had happened that night—for trying to pretend they hadn't been together.

Although she couldn't see his eyes from a distance, she knew they were a bright, sparkling blue. His eyes were always that way when he laughed and smiled. And she knew that there were crow's feet around his eyes. And that he laughed with his body.

Every time Arya thought about her behavior, she couldn't believe how stupid she'd been. Gendry was her best friend and they always talked about their issues and settled whatever had troubled them.

Quickly, Arya shoved away her thoughts and looked up again to stare at Gendry. When she did, her and Gendry made eye contact. As soon as they did, she saw a piece of him sadden. It wasn't apparent to others who didn't know him as well as Arya, but Arya could tell. His eyes dimmed a bit and his smile faltered somewhat. Her stomach dropped at this. Behind the sadness was uncertainty and traces of anger.

Gendry slowed down and said something to his friends, and then they said their good nights and parted ways. He stood still for a moment before he looked at her, and then made his way to his place. There were still traces of sadness, anger, and insecurity, but there was also a hint of curiosity as well.

Gendry sat down beside Arya, but made sure there was space between them. Arya was unsure if that was for her benefit, his own, or a combination of both. He sat his hands on his knees and looked ahead as he spoke.

"So, what do I owe the pleasure to," he inquired. "You spent weeks being angry at me and not letting me talk. Then you started avoiding me altogether and now you're on my porch. What gives?"

Arya opened the box on her lap and turned them towards Gendry.

It was her mom's cookies, his favorite.

"I apologize for my behavior and for the way I've been treating for a while," she said sincerely. "It was uncalled for and selfish of me. You didn't do anything wrong for me to behave that way and I'm sorry if I ever made you feel that anything was your fault."

At her apology, Gendry looked at his hands and clenched his jaw. "I didn't deserve that, Arya."

"I know," she agreed.

"You told me that you were okay with it and—and then you treat me like shit as if I did something wrong or messed up somehow," he vented. Although Arya absolved him of any blame for her behavior, it was obvious that Gendry had a lot to get off of his chest. "Arya, that was the most amazing night of my life and if I knew we would end up here, I wouldn't have even kissed you."

Arya's stomach knotted up.

"Gendry, words can't explain how sorry I am," she said. "I know I messed up. I was scared and it made me do stupid shit."

Incredulously, Gendry looked at her. "Scared of what?"

"That—that it'd change things between us for the worse. That terrified the shit out of me and I stupidly thought that if I pretended we never did it—never fucked—that…that everything would be normal. But, you wanted to talk about it and it made it hard for me to forget. You're my best friend and I didn't want to lose you because of one late night decision."

Gendry's facial expression softened at her explanation, but Arya could sense a part of him was still upset with her.

"Why didn't you just talk to me," he asked. "All you had to do was say something and we could've made sure shit didn't become bad between us."

"Gendry, it cannot be overstated how much of an idiot I've been since that night," she offered and gave a small smile.

Gendry nodded. "Yeah, you were," he agreed. "I just was so confused. You knew I was attracted to you and you kept pushing the issue that night. And—and I asked you if you were okay with what we were doing and you were said you were, and then the next day, it was like nothing ever happened. I couldn't even talk about it without you cutting me off or getting upset at me. I felt used. And I thought I must've been really bad that you wanted to forget."

"Are you kidding me," Arya laughed at the ridiculous assumption, and then she realized that she was the main reason he was insecure. "Gendry, you were incredible. Like, I kept asking myself if you were really a virgin. Even when you were…going down on me and did all that stuff with your fingers, you seemed very experienced."

Shyly, Gendry looked at the ground and grinned. "Really?"

"Yeah," Arya said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I didn't want that night to end. I…I liked the feeling of you inside me."

"I liked it too," he stated, and then clarified his comment. "I like being inside you."

Arya got slightly wet at his statement.

Gendry reached into the box and took a handful of cookies. He happily munched on the treats as the sat in silence. His anger dissipated, but Arya knew traces of hurt lingered.

"Apology accepted," Gendry said, and then looked to her. "Just…the next time you're scared, come to me first." For a moment, Gendry paused. "Well, I don't mean we're going to have sex again, but like…generally speaking. You mean a lot to me, Arya, and I'd do almost anything to prevent from losing you. I'd go crazy if we weren't best friends anymore—I missed you like hell when we weren't talking."

At this, Arya's eyes watered and you lunged towards Gendry and hugged him. "I missed you too."

Gendry chuckled, and then wrapped his free arm around her.

"Come on, let's go inside," he said, and then pulled Arya up with him.

Once inside, Gendry took the box of cookies from Arya, sat on the bed, and eat out of the box. In amazement, Arya watched, as Gendry scarfed down one-fourth of the box in what she presumed was a record time. She doubted that he breathed or chewed at all while he ate. She had to ask her mother to teach her the recipe.

"Gendry you need to slow down before you get sick," Arya cautioned.

"I'll be fine," he dismissed.

Arya rolled her eyes, and then walked around his room. It looked the same as the last time she was in it. His clothes were neatly hung in his closet, shoes lined up in a perfect row under his bed, and all of his books and papers carefully separated and put aside. Everything had a place and nothing was out of place.

Once, Arya asked Gendry where his cleaning obsession came from. He explained that before he came to live with his current foster father, he'd been in and out of a lot of homes. Some of them were complete slobs and he had to live in small bedrooms with other kids; others were neat freaks that'd punish you for the slightest things being out of place. For Gendry, being clean represented control. It was the only part of his life that he had absolute control over. Also, in some of his previous homes, they used to steal from him, the little he had, and claimed that his stuff was either lost in the mess or thrown away on accident. So, cleaning also helped him tracked his belonging: he knew where everything was and how to keep inventory. Lastly, it was one of the many ways he blew off steam.

"It doesn't make any sense," Gendry suddenly said.

"What," Arya said without looking at Gendry. She looked at an older picture of her, Gendry, and Hot Pie. Her finger lingered over Gendry's face, and then her own as she thought back to when they were less complicated.

"You spent the longest just being angry at me and cutting me off," he said. "Why were you ignoring me last week?"

Arya sadly smiled, and then looked at her best friend. "I was ashamed of myself and didn't know how to face you," she admitted. "I wanted to talk to you, but every time I thought about what I put you through, I just didn't know how to be around you."

"What gave you the courage to face me?" Gendry sat the box of cookies on his dresser as he looked at Arya.

"I missed you and I just thought that if I kept holding off facing you, then one day I'd never have the courage and would definitely end up losing you for good."

"Well, I'm glad you found it," Gendry said.

"Me too." Arya sat on the bed beside Gendry as he lay down. He groaned as he settled on the bed. "What's wrong with you?"

I'm full," he declared.

"I can see," she remarked. "Was it good?"

Gendry narrowed his eyes at Arya's teasing. He would've eaten that whole box if there were a chance he wouldn't get sick and she knew it. When he first tried her mother's cookies, he didn't expect them to be so delicious and addictive, but they were. After that, every time Mrs. Stark sent cookies, he always asked Arya for some. Eventually, she just started to share them with Gendry without him even asking.

This time, Arya made a special request for them for when she apologized to Gendry.

Loudly, Gendry groaned. "Do you want me to rub your stomach?" Arya grinned at him and placed her hand on his shirt. Gendry always got himself in this predicament over those cookies.

"Please and thank you." He closed his eyes and sighed at Arya's touch; he felt better already. Gendry's inner lion purred.

Contently, Gendry smiled as he felt Arya's hand through his shirt.

After a while, Arya's hand lost its rhythm due to tiredness and she switched to her other hand. Tenderly, she rubbed his stomach as she matched her earlier rhythm as her tired hand rested on Gendry's thigh. Instantly, Gendry's groin stirred. The young man cracked an eye as he looked at his friend who appeared to be focused on making his stomach troubles disappear.

One part of Gendry wanted to tell Arya to move her hand and the other wanted it to inch up closer and grab his cock.

Gendry said nothing.

He closed his eyes again and tried to ignore the rush of blood to his cock. Even if she took her hand off of his leg now, her touching him in general was problematic. Her hand wasn't that far north of his cock and a little travel south would solve his current issue. She'd rubbed him out before and do a pretty good job too.

"Gendry," Arya said softly.

"Hmm." Gendry opened both eyes and looked at her.

She definitely spotted his predicament.

Gendry looked at his betrayer, and then back at Arya.

"Umm," Gendry searched for something to say. "Ignore it, just keep rubbing my stomach."

Arya did as told as her eyes distractedly wandered to the bulge. Although it was only semi erect and completely covered, nothing could hide its imposing nature.

While Arya cock watched, unknowingly, her hand slipped under Gendry's shirt and she rubbed a little lower on his stomach. Eventually, her fingers lost its rhythm completely and flittered along his waistband as she visualized what his dick looked like. The hand that already rested on his thigh slid up and was less than an inch away from it. Fingertips from her other hand slightly dug beneath the waistband.

Gendry couldn't take it anymore.

He grabbed Arya's hand and shoved it into his underwear.

"Fuck all of the teasing bullshit," he said. "If you want to touch it, then touch it."

"Gendry…" Arya could hardly think with her knuckles pressed against his cock. Involuntarily, she rubbed it with the back of her index finger "I want to, but…I shouldn't."

"Why not," Gendry asked, as he rolled his hips up. Arya hitched her breath as he hand outside of his sweats tightened its grip on Gendry's leg.

"Because…"

"Arya, look at me." All while they spoke, Arya stared at his crotch. She had yet to look at Gendry's face since she became aware of his boner. Reluctantly, she tried to pull away, but her eyes never strayed and her hand never moved.

Gendry rolled his hips again.

"Can you stop that," she asked, voice slightly raised. "I want to, okay. But, it's not going to stop at just touching," she warned.

"And it doesn't have to," he replied. Gendry slid down his sweatpants and underwear together as Arya's resolved crumbled. She didn't want to rush into doing anything sexual again, but he forced her hand. She could control her urges while it was covered, but fully exposed to her?

Arya grabbed his cock and eagerly shoved it into her mouth.

"Oh, sh—" Gendry gasped at the unexpected sensation. He expected Arya to give him a hand job, not stuff his cock in her mouth. "Arya," he sighed.

Arya looked up for the first time since she first told him she'd spotted his growing erection. She saw that Gendry was propped up on elbow with his eyes half closed. Firmly, she pushed Gendry on the chest to make him lie down as she tried to take more of Gendry in her mouth.

From the sounds that came from Gendry, Arya knew that he was enjoying the blowjob. Inwardly, Arya smiled—her mouth was too full to give a real one. After a few minutes, Arya seemed to find a technique that drove Gendry wild as carefully thrust his hips up to meet her mouth.

Feeling much more confidant, Arya took even more of him, and consequently, Gendry's hips bucked.

"Oh my Gods," Gendry said, worriedly as he watched Arya gag as tears streamed from her eyes.

"Gendry," she choked out.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized. Hurriedly, he pulled up his sweats, and then went to his closet and grabbed a bottle of water. Gendry crouched in front of her as he rubbed her back while she gathered herself. Arya took a gulp of water. "Are you okay?"

Arya nodded yes.

"Sorry about that," he apologized again as he stood up. "I just—I just lost control."

"It's fine," Arya replied, as she sat her bottle on the floor. She reached for Gendry's waistband again.

"Whoa." Gendry backed up. "What are you doing?"

"Finishing what I started," she answered. Gendry looked at her like she was crazy. "I gagged." She shrugged. "It happens. That's what we call a learning moment, now come here."

Arya grabbed a handful of Gendry's cock, which deterred his attempts to resist her. In no time, her head was bobbing back and forth as he jaws began to ache. She simultaneously felt frustrated and relieved. Frustrated because she wasn't ready to stop and relieved because her jaws would stop aching once she did. Arya really didn't want to stop, but her jaws would seriously be killing her later on if she didn't. She learned her lesson the first time she blew Gendry. Stop while you're ahead.

Arya remembered when she first found out what a blowjob was. It disgusted her and she swore on all the things she cherished that she was never going to do it. Put a guy's penis in her mouth? The thing they peed out of? And what if they didn't wash down there? Or what about when they had sex with other people? It was gross?

And here she was eagerly taking Gendry in her mouth.

Everyone had to grow up sometime.

As if he could sense her tiredness, Gendry grabbed Arya's head and slowly slid out of her mouth. His erection stood proudly in front of her.

Carefully, Gendry pulled up his sweats.

"Take off your clothes," he instructed.

Arya obeyed.

Gendry went to his door and locked it. Because they didn't expect to have sex, neither one thought it was important to lock the door when they first came in. Arya was glad it occurred to Gendry because she wouldn't have even thought of it. She wasn't even supposed to be in his room in the first place. She could only imagine if someone walked in on them. When she thought about it, they didn't even lock the door the first time they had sex.

Before Gendry got back into bed with her, he took off his own clothes, and then got under the sheets with her.

Wantonly, Arya opened her legs for Gendry as he positioned himself between her legs. They kissed for a while as Gendry inserted Arya's vagina with his fingers. Tenderly, he rubbed in and out of her.

"Arya, promise me you won't freak out again if we do this," Gendry asked, as both of his arms held him up over her.

 _If?_

"I promise, Gendry," she groaned.

"Arya," he said.

"Gendry," she complained. "How are you going to ask that right as you fuck me with your fingers? Why didn't you ask this when you decided this was going to happen, right before you told me to take off my clothes, before—ah," she moaned. "Before you took off YOUR clothes. Hell, even before you stuck your fing—"

Gendry kissed her.

"I get it," he said. "I'm being stupid. Sorry."

Arya's hands slid down his back as she moved her hips up. Her tongue made its way into Gendry's mouth as he removed his hand from between her legs and eased his cock into her. Arya slightly grunted in pain as she felt his blunt member spread her, but continued to kiss Gendry.

Gendry stopped moving and broke their kiss. Concernedly he said, "Arya…"

"I'm okay," she reassured. "Just do it like the last time, okay?"

"All right," Gendry promised, and then kissed her forehead.

It didn't take as long for the pain to subside their second time together. As sounds of slapping flesh and bedsprings creaking filled the room, Gendry rocked into Arya. Sweat clung to their skin as they passionately fucked. Occasionally, Arya begged 'harder' and 'deeper' while her legs were wrapped around Gendry like a vice grip.

As Gendry moved within her, Arya wondered if this was the natural progression of their friendship. Perhaps she was supposed to continue having sex with Gendry after the first time and tried to interfere with how things were meant to be. She didn't mean it in a romantic, sappy kind of way, but being with him felt so natural. And she did trust him with her body, exploring her sexuality with her. Arya had no clue if sex with him included a relationship, but as of now, it was of no importance to her. She got to keep Gendry as her friend and she'd now have him as her lover.

"You're thinking is distracting me," Gendry complained.

"You can tell when I'm thinking," she asked.

"Yeah," he nodded, as he rested his forehead against hers. "Now stop it."

"Okay," she promised, and then deeply kissed him.

Arya gave him all her focus.

"We probably set the time for longest completion," Arya joked after her and Gendry crossed the line.

Gendry chuckled as he took off his shirt and used it as a towel. Arya took a moment to admire him.

"Tell us, Diego," Arya began. "How bad did we place? Out of the top twenty—top thirty?"

Gendry looked at Arya and playfully rolled his eyes, and then drank some of his water before he threw it to her to share. Arya caught it and looked at Diego expectantly.

"Actually, you finished first and set a record time," he said as he looked at his timer.

"You're shitting me," Arya said, after she swallowed the water.

"Arya, language," Diego chided.

"I know, but WE. FINISHED. FIRST!" She went over to Gendry and raised her arms up in a celebratory fashion, which Gendry slapped each hand with his own. Their arms then smoothly lowered and turned into a hug. Arya held Gendry tightly as he gave Arya a bear hug while he lifted her into the air and spun around. Slowly, he lowered her as they smiled at their victory.

Francine walked over and looked at the two. "They've made up."

Camden stood beside Francine and Diego. "What worries me is how," Camden voiced. His co-workers caught the insinuation.

"Maybe were reading too much into it," Diego argued. "Gendry and Arya are two people who really get one another. We're complicating that; just because we see something, doesn't mean it's there."

"Whatever you say," Camden said offhandedly. "But, keep in mind, the inverse is true as well."

Francine took a deep breath. "Yeah, and we don't want to act without proof," she argued. "We can voice our concerns to Yoren and the others, but let's hold back on acting; we need to tread carefully either way."

Diego nodded in agreement as Camden considered her words.

They stared at Arya and Gendry as he helped her onto the ground and followed after her. Carefully, he put her leg on his shoulder and leaned forward. Arya suppressed a groan as she felt her muscles stretch and burn.

"Harder?" Gendry's hand gently gripped the thigh it held as he carefully pushed forward.

"Do you even have to ask?" Arya grinned.

"I know, but you know I'm afraid of hurting you," he said as he moved onto her next leg.

Arya leered at him. "How can you be afraid with how good you are at easing me into things?"

"If they keep this up, we may need to act before there's proof," Camden said, as he crossed his arms.

Diego and Francine didn't disagree.


	5. Little Talks

"You two are a lost cause," Hot Pie said mirthfully, as he examined the concoctions in front of him.

"No, we aren't," Arya, said defensively. "You explained it wrong."

Hot Pie shook his head as he bit back laughter. "Arya, the instructions were self explanatory; I don't see how you and Gendry messed that up." He briefly inspected the mix again. "Well, Gendry's mix is terrible, but not a complete disaster like yours."

In mock anger, Arya mouthed, "Fuck you."

"Hey, that's not nice." Hot Pie laughed at Arya as he took her bowl and sat a new one in front of her.

Arya looked at Hot Pie questioningly as she pointed to the mix in his hands. "Can't we just fix that one?"

"No," he denied. "There's no redemption for this one. It has sinned and must meet its maker." Hot Pie dumped the mix in the trash as Gendry laughed beside her.

"Why are you laughing," Arya asked as she looked up at the significantly taller man. "Yours was a disaster too."

"Yeah," Hot Pie said, "But, unlike yours, his can be redeemed."

Gendry continued to laugh.

"Shut up!" Arya narrowed her eyes at Gendry as she listened to Hot Pie while she remade her dessert from scratch. Although Gendry had stopped laughing, Arya could see out of the corners of her peripherals that a grin was plastered on his face.

She was going to lose their bet.

Hot Pie, Arya, and Gendry all signed up for the same cooking class. In all honestly, Arya and Gendry enrolled because Hot Pie asked them to; it was a hobby he enjoyed and a way for them to make it up to him for the weeks they didn't get along. Although Arya and Gendry generally did well in the class, they struggled with the pastries—especially the complex ones. As luck would have it for Arya, that'd be the same day she made her bet with Gendry that she'd do better than him.

So far, her proclamation couldn't have been further from the truth.

Despite her new dessert mix and efforts to compromise his, Arya still lost to Gendry.

"Gendry…if you really cared for me, you wouldn't make me do it," Arya pleaded as she walked beside him.

Gendry chuckled. "Arya, if I'd lost, you would've made me sing in front of everyone tonight, there's no way I'm letting you get out of wearing that dress," he said.

Although Wholistic Core wasn't a conventional school/camp, they did hold social events for the young adults to converse and get to know another on a basic level. They wanted their wards to socialize with one another and implement all that they had learned in a relaxed environment. Tonight, they were throwing a dance, which had food, beverages, music, and karaoke. Arya said that if she won, Gendry had to sing in front; Gendry said if he won, Arya had to wear the dress her mother bought her to the dance.

It was your basic two strap dress that was an off colored white and very form fitting. Arya believed that her mother wouldn't intentionally buy her a dress that tight, but she suspected that there'd been a discrepancy in sizes.

"Ugh," Arya sighed.

"And when I say dress, I mean the whole outfit," Gendry clarified. The dress came with four-inch heels, a pearl necklace with a matching bracelet and hair brooch, and a clutch.

Even though the dance wasn't an extravagant one, Catelyn still wanted Arya to dress up and look her best. Just like last year, Arya didn't have any intentions on wearing the dress until the bet. Arya had to honor it. Not only was it in her blood, but also she'd feel wrong about it because Gendry was right, she would've made him follow through on her command.

"Do you even have a heart," she joked.

Gendry nodded no. "I'm a heartless bastard," he replied, and then winked at her. "See you tonight."

~*~*~*~

Arya applied some lip-gloss, and then smacked her lips together as she stepped back and looked at herself. She turned around to examine herself in the mirror, and then smoothed out her dress.

Softly, someone knocked on the door.

Without looking to see who it was, Arya opened the door.

"I'm ready, I just need to get my jacket," Arya said, as she stood in front of Gendry.

As if his breath was stolen, Gendry wordlessly stared at her.

"What," Arya said insecurely.

"Nothing," he said. "You just look like a proper lady."

Arya sighed dramatically. "Shut up, you stupid bull."

"You do," he said adamantly.

Arya glared at him, and then turned and walked to her closet to get her jacket. Gendry followed her and helped Arya put it on.

"I could've done that myself," she said.

"I'm willing to bet you can do anything you put your mind to," Gendry said. As he wrapped his arms around, he kissed her behind her ear. Arya practically melted into his arms. "I just thought that I'd be helpful."

For moment, Arya closed her eyes and contently leaned into Gendry chest as he held her close.

"All right," she said. "Let's go."

A few weeks back, Arya observed that the camp counselors kept and eye on her and Gendry. Although she'd overhead Hot Pie and Francine talking, that was simply concern expressed about her and Gendry's friendship. But, this time it was different. Arya saw the way Francine, Camden, Diego, and other counselors looked at them when they thought her and Gendry weren't watching. She'd even figured out that they started give Gendry odd jobs to do to keep him away from her. So, she decided to be careful of how she touched and interacted with Gendry when others were present.

For a fact, Arya knew that employees of Wholistic Core only had suspicions about her and Gendry, but couldn't prove anything. If so, they would've confronted them about it. So, Arya made sure that any of her interaction with Gendry could only be viewed as platonic.

They still looked at them, but now it was with less certainty. To throw them off even more, Arya flirted with the occasional boy or two.

As soon as Arya entered the room, all eyes were on her and compliments fell from the lips of many young men and even some girls said she looked nice.

For a while, Arya stayed close to Hot Pie and Gendry as they navigated the dance floor. First they grabbed some plates and ate outside, and then they hopped from group to group as they chatted with various people. Some guys had pulled Gendry away to talk or laugh or whatever with him and he'd yet to return. But, Arya spotted a girl who stopped Gendry and engaged him in conversation.

"Arya," a boy named Jacob said as he carefully approached her. "You look…AMAZING tonight."

Arya raised an eyebrow, and then crossed her arms. "What do you want Jacob?"

"I know I'm not your favorite person," he began. "But, I want you to know how sorry I am about kissing you." Jacob nervously rubbed his hands together. "That's not the proper way to let a girl know you like her."

"You didn't kiss me," Arya corrected. "You tried and I stopped you."

Jacob nodded. "Still…it's just I really like you and I want to start over with you," he explained. "So, I was wondering if you wanted to dance?"

"No," Arya said. Instantly, Jacob's face fell. "Look, I'm over that whole attempted kiss situation, but if I dance with you, it'll get your hopes up about their being an us and, quite honestly, I'm not interested in you. I'm not even interested in dating."

"Oh." Jacob looked everywhere, but Arya. "Well, at least you're being honest, right?"

There wasn't any reason for Arya to feel bad, but she did. "I'm sorry."

"No." Jacob finally looked at her. "Just because I like you doesn't mean you have to feel the same…I'll—I'll see you around."

Arya turned down her four guys in a row when she saw another one approaching her. Inwardly, she groaned. A part of her felt as if she should feel appreciative about all of the attention being directed towards her, but the other part was overwhelmed. It was too much and, from what she believed, all for the wrong reasons. The guys thought she was attractive with a nice body, they didn't actual care about her; she just had the physical assets they liked. Although Jacob had a crush on her, Arya wasn't interested in him.

Thinking quick on her feet, Arya grabbed Hot Pie and pulled him onto the floor.

"Arya, what are you doing," Hot Pie spluttered.

"What does it look like," Arya asked. She placed his hands above her waist, and then wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Just follow my lead."

"Of all of the boys and you choose me, what have I done to get this lucky," he asked sarcastically. Arya smiled at him and rested her head on his chest.

"Be a good friend," she gently replied.

"And Gendry hasn't," he inquired.

"No, Gendry doesn't dance," she responded. "Jacob likes me and the other guys are trying to touch on me or hit on me."

"And me?" Hot Pie gently rested his chin on her head.

"It's just a dance," she replied. "There's nothing to read into it."

"What makes you so sure," he probed.

Arya chuckled against his chest. "Because you can't bluff worth shit-you always show your hand around girls you like. And it's obvious that you don't like me in that way, so I don't worry about you."

"Yeah, you're just worried about Gendry," Hot Pie said. Arya lifted her head and looked at her dancing partner. "Arya, I'm not stupid; it may take me a while to catch on, but I know it's like that for you and Gendry."

"Like what," she laughed. Hot Pie rolled his eyes at her response. "What? 'Like that' isn't a descriptive term; in fact, it's very vague."

"Fine," he conceded. "Like that as in you two having feelings for each other."

"I don't have feelings for, Gendry," Arya denied.

Hot Pie gave her an unbelieving look. "Oh, really?"

"Really," she confirmed. "And, dude, what's with the Spanish Inquisition?"

Hot Pie sighed, "Nothing, it's just been a weird few weeks." Arya intently looked her friend as she listened to him. "I know we are all best friends, but you and Gendry have always been closer—not that that's ever been an issue for me, but you two went form thick as thieves to not talking to being closer than before. Now, it just seems as if you two are trying to hide that you like each other."

"Hot Pie, guys and girls can be friends without them liking each other," Arya explained.

Hot Pie rolled his eyes. "I know that—like you said earlier, we're friends. It's just that your friendship with Gendry seems a little too close and not in a sibling type way. Hell, even if you two were siblings, I'd think you had a Targaryen thing going on."

At the comparison, Arya's stomach dropped. Was her indefinable connection with Gendry so strong that even if they had been related, people would assume it was sexual? Of course, that wasn't Hot Pie's implication; he naively believed what amounted between them was a simple crush that had evolved out of friendship. Arya didn't want to correct him and explain it was far messier and complicated than childish crushes that left as easily as they came.

Momentarily, Arya looked over at Gendry, and then down at her hands.

It was more than that.

Arya suspected it's been more than that for quite a while.

Curiously, Hot Pie stared at her. As well as he knew her; she was also equally a mystery. That was the only half measure she'd give. It took a moment for Arya to realize that Hot Pie was observing and laughed to play it off.

"I think that says more about you than it does about us," Arya said, and then smiled at him. "Is there something you'd like to tell me, Hot Pie?"

"What," he looked at her. "We've gone over that I don't have a crush on you."

The song ended and Arya looped her arm through Hot Pie's as the walked off the floor. "Which leaves Gendry."

"And…"

"Inquiring minds want to know," she grinned.

Hot chuckled and went along with it, "Well, I can't deny that he's a dashing lad with those brilliant baby blues and rock hard abs; I'm only human."

Arya put a finger to her chin as she pretended to deeply think. "Hmm…I'll try to put in a good word in for you."

"Please do," he mocked pleaded. "He might finally notice me for the first time in years."

Arya laughed into Hot Pie's chest.

~*~*~*~

Later on, as Arya lay in her bed pressed between the mattress and Gendry, she wondered if she was a liar. Despite all of her rationalizations, she didn't believe that Hot Pie would see it the way she did. She intentionally misled him to thinking her relationship with Gendry was strictly platonic. Arya played on a technicality in his questioning, which was unfair of her. Her sexual relationship wasn't something she wanted others to know let alone discuss. It was still new to her and they'd possibly separate her and Gendry. The less people knew the better.

Gendry groaned.

"Arya, you're distracting me," he complained.

At this, the young woman rolled her eyes. "Gods, why do you have such a freak about this 'when we fool around, I want all of your attention on me,'" she tried to mimic his voice.

Gendry chuckled in her ear.

"Because," Gendry slowly licked his lips as he looked her in the eyes. "I want to know that you're into as much as I am. It doesn't seem like it when you're thinking about other things."

"Gendry," Arya lowered her voice. "As soon as you're in me—when you're fucking me, you're the only thing I'm thinking about."

"Is that right?" Slowly, a hand slid up her inner thigh and fingers pushed her panties aside as he inserted two digits into her

Arya gasped, "Yeah." Involuntarily, her hips lifted off the bed.

Firmly, Gendry pushed and held her hips down with one hand as the other continued to work and added another finger. Pleasured sighs filled his ears as he fingers expertly penetrated her. Arya's moans and sighs made Gendry's cock twitch. He was already super hard and the noises coming from her didn't ease the situation in his pants.

Arya's panties got in his way, so he withdrew his fingers from her, and then took her panties off. A quick kiss was placed on her lips before his head disappeared between her legs.

"Oh Gods, Gendry, oh Gods," she moaned.

Arya just wished that his tongue could go deeper. It had been a while since she experienced some deep penetration and, although the finger and mouth fucking got her off some, nothing compared to his cock entering her. A few tricks from his finger and mouth paled to what his cock could do.

Tightly, she grabbed his head and smashed his face against her pussy.

Gendry's tongue became firmer as he added to fingers.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" One leg rested on Gendry's shoulder as he brought her closer and closer to her climax. He could feel it; she was almost there. "Gendry, no," she mumbled.

He raised his head and looked at her. "No, what?"

"Not yet," she replied. "Let's cum together; I'll blow you and bring you close and then we finish ourselves off together."

Usually, the protocol was Gendry either went down on Arya, fingered her, or both in order to get her off, and then Arya got him off however she chose to. They never came together.

"Umm, okay," he agreed.

Gendry rose up on his knees and unbuckled his dress pants. Impatiently, Arya swatted his hand away and quickly undid his pants and slid them down his legs.

With an expert hand, Arya grabbed Gendry's cock and firmly stroked it briefly before she directed it into her mouth. Languidly, she sucked his cock as she took all of him in her mouth—every inch down her throat.

In her peripherals, Arya saw Gendry clench and unclench his hands as a strained groaned escaped his lips. She sucked the head, and then licked the undershaft as she fondled his balls.

"You like that," she puffed.

Gendry nodded and whispered, "Yeah."

As Arya took him back in her mouth, his hand rested in her hair. Gently, Gendry ran his fingers through Arya's hair as they made eye contact. She figured something like that was supposed to distract her, but oddly, it only made her focus more. Gendry then rested his hand on the back of her head as set a slower pace as he watched his cock slide in and out of her mouth. Arousal shot through her as his cock hardened in her mouth.

A few grunts came from Gendry as he looked down at Arya.

"Can I fuck you face?"

Arya slowly nodded yes.

Tenderly, Gendry's thumb caressed her check, and then his hand rested on her face as the other one grabbed the other side. He moved his hips back and forth at the pace he set earlier before gradually picking up speed. His teeth forcefully bit down on his lips as he tried to get his pleasure all while he avoided making Arya gag. Although she was regularly took him in her mouth—even him face fucking her—he was still a big guy. He didn't want to hurt her.

Carefully, Gendry pulled out of her mouth and sat on the bed.

"Lie back," she commanded.

Gendry did as told as grabbed his cock and laid his head against the pillows.

Gods, she wanted him so bad.

Arya straddled one of his thighs as she kissed her way up his torso.

"What are you doing Arya?" His movements stilled as he felt Arya's lips on his neck.

"As good as you are at eating the box," Arya explained after she bit his neck. "It's not a substitute for the real thing."

At her last words, Arya grinded Gendry's leg.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Gendry repeated as he grabbed her hips. "We CAN NOT do that; you know that, Arya."

"Yes, we can," she contradicted, and then grabbed his hands and made them touch her breasts. She went back to grinding his leg.

Arya knew that his will was weak as it always was after their oral activities. Gendry already struggled to take a stance against them not having sex when she sucked his dick or he ate her out, but she knew she could break him if he could feel her grinding against him as well as her wetness. She knew he missed being inside of her just as much as she missed him being inside her.

"Arya, we only have to wait a week," he said weakly. "We didn't come all this far for nothing."

He was broken and she could either back off or go in for the kill.

A few weeks back, Arya's period came really late. She didn't think much of it because her period never had set timing. Sometimes she was late, other times she was on time, but it never came super late, which was when Arya started to freak out.

For days, she prayed for her period to come. At night, she paced back and forth in front of Gendry as they waited for an answer either way.

Would she bleed?

Or was she pregnant?

Since they were miles deep in the wilderness, it was impossible to travel to a store and back without getting caught. Sure, they got away with shit at the camp, but there were regular attendance checks and the time it would take to travel to the store and back, wouldn't be one of the things they got away with. So, they were unable to get condoms or a pregnancy test.

Eventually, red stained her panties and the two promised no more sex until they got ahold of condoms.

Arya was set to visit her family the next day and time and opportunity to time condoms, and then they could have all of the sex they wanted.

But, Arya didn't want to wait any longer.

"I don't care," she replied. "I want you now."

She then straddled his hips as his cock caressed the crack of her ass. It took everything in Gendry to prevent from reacting.

"You want to get pregnant too?"

Thoughtfully, Arya stared at him, and then firmly kissed his lips. "I promise not to get pregnant, okay?"

"There's no way you can guarantee that, Arya," he retorted.

"I'm not going to get pregnant," she promised again as she grabbed his penis and slowly sank down on it. Deeply, she moaned at the familiar feeling. "I promise," she repeated over and over like a chant.

Gendry's eyes all but rolled to the back of his head as he felt himself move inside her. Gods, she felt better than he remembered. It made him wonder how he'd held out so long. Suddenly, he placed his hands on her hips and slammed her down on his cock.

Arya abruptly squealed, "Oh! Fuck!" Gendry increased the intensity of his thrusts. "Yes…. yes…yes."

To balance herself better, Arya rested her palms on Gendry's chest as she rocked her hips and took him deeper and deeper.

Suddenly, Gendry flipped them over all while staying inside her.

He held her thighs against the bed as he stroked into her at a moderate pace.

Arya heard his heavy breathing in her ear.

"Please don't get pregnant," he pleaded.

His blues eyes searched her grey ones before he kissed her, and then rested his forehead against hers.

"I won't," she promised.

The bed springs continued to squeak.

~*~*~*~

The sun beamed on Arya as she soaked up the rays.

Arya aimlessly floated around the pool in her inflatable chair. She wore a yellow bikini and her shades with her headphones in her ears.

The night before, she arrived late while everyone was sleep, so she went straight to her room, sent Mycah a message, and then watched some shows she was behind on Netflix. After a few hours, she went to bed and slept in late.

After she took a quick run and showered, she got in the pool to relax.

Suddenly, she felt somewhat cooler and opened her eyes to see a person blocking her sun. Arya didn't recognize the guy and figured it had to be one of her brother's friends. It seemed as if he were trying to talk to her and, as much as Arya tried to ignore him, he wouldn't leave, so she took her headphones out of her ears.

"Do you need help with something?" Arya tried to keep the irritation out of her voice, but it was hard with how the guy stared at her.

He smiled at her, and then walked closer to the pool's edge. "Uh, no…I just wanted to introduce myself, I'm Dallas."

Dallas extended a hand for her to shake. Arya looked at it, and then back at him.

A thin smile appeared on her face. "Uh…thanks, nice to meet you."

Arya attempted to put her headphones back in when Dallas kept talking.

"You must be Arya," he stated.

"Must be," she repeated. Arya sat her iPod on the float and swam with one arm to the edge of the pool as she pulled the float with her. Dallas tried to help her up, but Arya lifted herself out of the pool, and then grabbed her iPod.

As Arya walked away, Dallas followed her. "Hold on, what's the rush?"

"I don't want to talk to you," Arya said plainly.

"I see, you're one of those girls," he remarked. "You play hard to get."

Arya rolled her eyes, and then stopped to face him. "I'm not playing hard to get, you can't have me; I'm not interested."

"You don't even know me," he argued.

Arya shrugged. "And I don't want to."

"So, are you like this with all guys?" Dallas walked closer to her as Arya leaned on the doorframe.

"Yes," she said in a short tone.

Dallas chuckled as he crossed his arms. "Well, I'm not like the other guys; how about you make an exception for me?"

Arya laughed as she took in Dallas. "Why would I do that? You aren't exceptional."

Dallas' face dropped as Arya slipped into the house. A moment later, he followed her into the kitchen.

"Whoa," Dallas said. "That was rude. I did nothing to deserve that."

With a bored expression, Arya listened to Dallas as she ate a banana and gathered ingredients to make a sandwich.

"I don't care. I didn't come home to meet new people; I came home to spend time with my family. You're the one who approached me and kept pursuing after I showed disinterest. I said what I said, if that offends you, that's your issue not mine. Not interested, end of story."

"You think you're the shit just because you're hot," he accused. "But, you're barely hot and not even as good looking as your sister. I lowered my standards by talking to you. I did YOU a favor."

Arya cackled. "Who told you to lower your standards," she retorted. "For that, you have no one to blame but yourself. Now please leave so I can wallow in my misery for turning YOU down."

"I'm not going to let an ugly bitch insult me," he spat, and then walked out of the room.

"But, you did try to talk to one," Arya mumbled.

After Arya finished her sandwich, she went up to the bathroom and took a quick shower. She put on shorts that were mid thigh, a cropped, sleeveless plaid shirt, cowgirl boots, and a cowgirl hat. Arya threw on some lip-gloss and headed down the stairs.

Randomly, she grabbed a pair of car keys from the many hooks, and then took off for the door.

"You'd think that a person who was expelled from school and sent away due to bad behavior would learn how to treat people, but I guess not," Sansa said as she held the door to prevent Arya from getting out.

Arya looked at Sansa's hand, and then her face before turned around to exit the house another way.

"What is your problem," Sansa said as she walked after her. "You beat up my boyfriend, act like a total bitch towards me, and now you're disrespecting my friends. You don't get hurt and insult people and walk away as if nothing happened."

Arya ignored Sansa as she walked to the back door.

"Hey, I'm talking to you," Sansa yelled. "Gods, you're such a fucking child!" She grabbed Arya's arm and yanked it so her younger sister could face her. Tightly, she held both of her forearms as she glared at her sister. "Perhaps if you stood still and listened to people, you'd actually get along with others. This whole "rebel without a cause' isn't cute, it's pathetic."

Arya looked at Sansa's hand, and then her face. "Sansa, I don't give a damn what you think about me, but I want you to hear me when I say this: if you ever put your hands on me again, I WILL break them."

Slowly, Sansa let go of Arya. Without a further word uttered between the two, Arya left.

~*~*~*~

"Nymeria," Arya said happily as the direwolf excitedly licked her face. "I miss you so much, girl."

Arya giggled at Nymeria's intensified kisses.

"She misses you a lot, too," Mycah stated as he watched the reunion. "I swear, she can tell when you are coming and she's sad when you leave."

"Hey," she said to Nymeria as she looked into her eyes. "I'm sad too when I leave, girl. But, when I move back, we're never being separated again."

As if Nymeria comprehended Arya's promised, she licked her owner's face.

"When are you moving back?" Mycah sat on the stairs as he watched Arya interact with her beloved pet. "Your family still owns the house in Winterfell, but they stay in King's Landing."

"The move was only supposed to be temporary, but I have no clue what's going on now," she admitted. "They always talk about moving back permanently, but it never happens."

"So, you think they're staying there?"

Arya shook her head. "No, my dad loves Winterfell too much. He just has this baffling loyalty to Robert and doesn't want to leave him hanging."

The two spent the rest of their time playing online shooter games. It was clear that Mycah improved, but still not as good as Arya. Their groups took most of the first and second places as Arya did most of the grunt work. She also spent her time strategizing with her teammates through the mic and headphone set and shit talking to the competition.

Gleefully, the two friends smiled at spending time together for the first time in a long time.

Mycah caught her up with what was happening in Winterfell and what his plans were for the school year and beyond. He spoke about cooking and how he'd watched various cooking shows and looked up cooking recipes to make in his spare time. There was a culinary camp that he'd participated in and he had a job in a restaurant where he'd watch cooks during his break time. Either during their break or when he clocked out, he asked as many questions as he could about food and how to improve. It was clear that his interest had grown from a hobby to a full-blown passion.

When he got the money, he planned to go to culinary school, and then see if he could apply at a few prestigious restaurants and get mentored by the best. But, with the amount of money his family had, it'd be a while. Although his father had found another job, it didn't pay as well as his former job. Even if Mycah's father still had his original job it'd be hard to support Mycah's dream, but manageable. Not only that, Mycah was working to help support his family. His checks and tips went towards the bills.

Arya never hated her father, but she was disappointed that he fired Mycah's dad. Although his hand was forced, the least he could've done was put in a good word for Mycah's dad in Winterfell. No one there cared about what happened up in King's Landing and loved her dad and the Starks. But, her dad wasn't just an honest man; he was a loyal man as well and very obedient too. Although he ran his own business, creating waves with the Baratheon's could hurt his company very much.

"Maybe you can be like Rachel Ray or something," she suggested. "She didn't go to cooking school and she has her own show, books, magazines, and shit."

Mycah smiled and looked away. "Some people have luck, others have connections, and then rest are shit out of luck," he replied. "I'm going to be a chef one way or another; it's just that my path went from somewhat hard to incredibly difficult."

He shrugged as if to say, 'That's life.'

The nonchalance in Mycah's answer bothered Arya. That was life for him, but she couldn't identify. She didn't know what it was like to struggle and have hopes and dreams threatened because there wasn't enough money. Or be punished for something that had nothing to do with you all because people like you had to be made an example of. Sure, she had her challenges, but it could never compare to what Mycah and his family was going through.

As much as Arya liked to think she wasn't like the rich and related to the everyday people, it wasn't true. She had privilege and was allowed to do many things because of her family's money and status. As close as her and Mycah was, there would be parts of him she could never get because of her status and money, just like with Hot Pie and Gendry.

Even if there were some things she'd never understand, Arya wasn't going to sit by and do nothing.

The wheels in her mind went into motion.

~*~*~*~

"Hey, mom." Arya grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and sat at the island.

"Oh, look who decided to spend time with her family," Catelyn said teasingly, with her back to Arya as she looked over some papers. "I knew you came in last night, but I thought you would've shown your face long before now."

"By the time I woke up, you were gone," she explained. "I was in the pool for a little bit, and then drove to see Mycah and Nymeria."

Catelyn shuffled some papers around, and then straightened them. "Oh, that's good. How are they?"

"Mycah is doing fine," she said. "Nymeria doing fine too, but she misses me."

"I bet," Catelyn stated. "Gods know that you kids and those direwolves are inseparable. I bet she was overjoyed to see you."

Arya laughed.

"Yeah, she practically attacked me when she first saw me," Arya fondly recalled. "When I move back, I'm definitely picking her up ASAP."

Catelyn approached the other side of the island. "Speaking of moving," she began. "Your father and I have discussing transferring you to a school in the community. You've made a lot of progress at Wholistic Core and we feel it's time you come home." She grabbed her daughter's hand and lovingly squeezed it.

Arya sat frozen for a minute.

"What," she said, dumbly. "What do you mean you're transferring me? I was expulsed from my last school and I doubt any other school in King's Landing would want to take the girl who pissed off the Baratheon family."

Catelyn widely smiled. "King's Landing isn't home, it never was—Winterfell is."

"You all are moving back to Winterfell," Arya asked, in disbelief. "Seriously this time?"

Catelyn nodded, and then exhaled. "Yeah. Robert finally agreed to let your father leave without causing a fuss about it—reluctantly, but he did."

"That's great," Arya semi-smiled.

"I know school has started already, but it hasn't been in session that long," Catelyn explained. "We'll get you transferred right away, so by the end of the week you'll be going home and not to Wholistic Core."

"But, what…" Arya took a deep breath. "But, what about my things?"

"We'll send someone to go and pick it up," Catelyn answered. "I know this is all quick, but it'll be good to have you back home where you belong. Gods knows that I'm tired of seeing you for only a few days and you leaving as quick as you came."

"Yeah," Arya nodded, and then stood up. "Umm…I'm going to freshen up for dinner."

"Is something wrong, Arya," Catelyn gave her daughter a concerned looked. "I know that you've made friends there, but I thought you wanted to come home?"

"I do," she said. "I'm just still processing it. Umm…I'll see you in a few minutes."

Arya wasn't lying to her mother when she said she wanted to come home, but she didn't want to leave Wholistic Core just yet either. She had friends there and the learning environment was great. It became a second home for her and she couldn't just leave without saying goodbye or at all really. It was her last year and when she moved back home she'd have to start all over.

For a fact, Arya knew that her mother wasn't going to put her in a public school. It was going to be a private school where she didn't know anyone. Although she'd gotten better at making friends, that didn't mean anything. She didn't want to start over. She loved where she was.

Why couldn't she just move back when she graduated?

Twenty minutes later, Arya descended the stairs and walked into the kitchen to find her siblings and parents sitting at the table.

"Arya," Rickon, Bran, Jon, Robb, and Catelyn said simultaneously, although; Catelyn's tone was laced with disapproval.

"What are you wearing," she asked.

Arya narrowed her eyes at the question, and then looked at her outfit. "Clothes?"

"You're not funny, Arya," her mother chastised. "Did you go outside like that?"

"Yeah," she answered. "You didn't notice my outfit when we spoke earlier?"

"No," Catelyn said. "If I did, we would've discussed your outfit then."

"Mom," Arya sighed, as she sat down. "It's not that big of a deal; I'm showing a little bit of skin—big whoop."

Catelyn glared at Arya. "Not that big of a deal—big whoop? Ned, do you hear our daughter right now?"

Ned looked at Catelyn, and then Arya as he looked up at the ceiling and said a quick prayer.

"You should've seen her prancing around the house today in her bikini while my friends were here," Sansa said.

Catelyn looked taken aback. "Arya!"

"I wasn't prancing around," Arya denied. "Mom, I told you I was in the pool earlier, which correct me if I'm wrong, you wear swimsuit, right? Gods know that if I were to wear regular clothes in the pool, I'd be chastised about that." Her mother was silent at Arya's statement. "Sansa's friend came over to talk to me and I only spoke to him because I thought that was either Bran's or Rickon's friend and needed help. I then got out of the pool and went into the house. One: I didn't even know Sansa had people here, two: I made myself something to eat, and then went to my room—there wasn't any "prancing" around the house, and three: I live here too, if people want me to dress appropriately around company, I need a heads up."

"How about we just drop this matter altogether," Ned suggested to which Catelyn began to protest. "Cat, when you were around Arya's age, you didn't dress all that different," he reminded.

"Ned," she said, in an offended tone. "I was older…an adult—NOT a seventeen year old girl and I covered more skin."

Her dad smiled. "That's not how I remember it," he said sweetly as he grinned at Catelyn.

She bowed her head and blushed.

"Besides, Arya's almost an adult. I may not like the outfit myself, but that's because I'm her dad and anything less than non form fitting pants and huge sweaters is too much skin for me."

Catelyn looked at Ned and they seemed to have a silent conversation with each other. "Okay, fine," she said, and then turned towards her daughter. "Arya, could you just wear more clothes in the house, so I can feel comfortable…if that's not too much to ask."

"Sure…" Arya looked at her mom, then her dad.

Arya then dropped the subject and looked at her favorite brother. "Jon! What are you doing home?"

Excitedly, Arya hugged Jon as he sat in his chair. At the awkwardness, Jon stood up and gave her a bear hug. Jon and Arya hadn't seen one another face since he left for the Army. They video chatted whenever she was home, but either she was at school or he was overseas, so it was impossible for the two to be in the same room together.

"What? You aren't happy to see me," Jon said after he broke away. Arya rolled her eyes as she playfully hit him on the arm.

"Hey, at least she acknowledged you," Robb joked, as he looked at Arya.

Arya walked by Robb and tried to muff him in the back of his head, which he ducked. She tried two more times and successfully hit Robb on her second attempt. The two siblings laughed at their own silliness.

Robb rose from his seat and encircled Arya in his arms.

"I'm happy to see both of you," she replied. She paused for a moment, and then broke apart from Robb to give her younger brothers hugs and kisses; Rickon gave her a slob filled kiss in return and Bran planted a kiss on Arya's cheek.

Coldly, Arya and Sansa stared at one another before Arya took a seat by her older sister.

~*~*~*~

Silently, mother and daughter toiled in the hot sun as they gardened. Catelyn's garden was filled with a variety of flowers, vegetables, and fruits that she grew herself. Although they did have a personal gardener, Catelyn had her own little garden that she tended to over the years. Besides the numerous clubs, PTA's, and other miscellaneous organizations she was apart of, gardening was Catelyn's personal hobby. It was a hobby she took with her to King's Landing.

For years, she tried to get Arya to help her so the two could bond, but Arya always made a huge issue out of it. As a child, she'd throw a tantrum until Catelyn would send her away, then she'd find ways to get out of it as a preteen, eventually, she'd just say no.

But, today, Arya came into Catelyn's garden and wordlessly assisted her. The things she pretended not to know over the years, she effortlessly portrayed knowledge of as she worked. There were even a few techniques that Catelyn didn't know Arya knew.

Sweat trickled down Arya forehead and onto her brow while the young girl dug up the earth. Quickly, she wiped the sweat off her brow and continued digging.

Catelyn observed her youngest daughter as she completed various tasks. From years of experience, Catelyn knew Arya didn't have anything on her mind—good or bad. There didn't seem to be any motive to her being in the garden besides wanting to help her mother out.

"Who are you and what have you done with my daughter," Catelyn asked as looked at her daughter.

Arya smiled.

"Who is anyone, but a series of traits we choose to reveal," she said philosophically.

"You know what," Catelyn laughed. "Leave my garden."

Arya chuckled. "Do you mean to tell me is that all I had to go was go Plato on you and you wouldn't have forced me to garden all of those years?"

Catelyn pretended to ponder the question. "Yes," she said, as she shook her head emphatically. Arya shook her head at her mother's silliness as she smiled. "When did you start gardening for fun?"

"I didn't," Arya said. Momentarily, she paused and gave her answer some thought. "I don't. I just thought you might like it."

"But, you seem to have gotten better." Catelyn pulled her gloves off, and then rubbed her hands together to brush off stray dirt particles.

Arya mimicked her mother's actions, and then handed Catelyn her gloves. "I don't mind gardening," Arya admitted. "But, as a kid, it wasn't fun sitting in the sun tending to plants—you know me, I wanted run around and get into stuff." Catelyn nodded at this. "At the Core, you have so many classes to take and I completed most of my mandatory classes. So, it's either I took advanced levels classes OR something easy. My advisor said that, although it'd look good on my college transcript, I should take something easy just to balance my work load"

"That explains your new gardening skills," Catelyn said as if to say 'a-ha!' "Thank you, dear."

"You're welcome." Arya smiled at her mom.

Catelyn put the gloves away and the two ladies walked into the kitchen. Arya grabbed herself a snack as her mom grabbed a bottled of wine.

"Join me," Catelyn demanded as she gestured to the dining room table. She poured Arya and herself a glass. Arya flopped in her chair and Catelyn shot her a disapproving look.

The two Stark women sipped the wine in silence as Catelyn gathered her thoughts.

"Why haven't you told your father and I what really happened with Sansa?" Arya stilled. Did Sansa tell them? Mentally, Arya shook her head no. Sansa would never admit to fault in their argument let alone admit her part to their parents.

"What do you mean?" Arya popped a grape in her mouth as she looked at the table.

Tiredly, Catelyn sighed. "Arya, you know what I mean. You were punished for your disrespectful and foul language towards Sansa, but you've never told us what prompted you to say those things the first place," she explained. "I know your father and I were wrong to not ask your side of the story at the time, but why have you never voluntarily told us about it now?"

Slowly, Arya chewed her grapes, and then washed it back with her wine.

"It just felt pointless," she admitted. "Back then, I just spent so much time fighting to be heard that it felt like it wouldn't have mattered if I did explain my side."

Something in Catelyn tightened.

At this moment, she felt like a failure of a parent.

Water welled in the older woman's eyes as she processed her daughter's confession.  
Never in her life did she think that her kids would say they felt like their words didn't matter. Admittedly, Catelyn felt as if she failed her youngest daughter with how that whole situation was handled, which included the first time Arya got into it with Joffrey to her argument with Sansa.

"And now?"

"What's done is done," she shrugged. "There's no use dwelling on the past."

"If that was true, then why haven't you forgiven Sansa?"

"Because I wasn't referring to Sansa," Arya clarified. "I'm referring as to why I never told you all my side: it felt pointless then and it's in the past now. Sansa is a completely different story."

Catelyn nodded in understanding. "If you don't mind telling me now, I'd love to hear it."

"Okay," Arya mumbled. "Well, ever since our fight back in Winterfell, Joffrey had it out for me, especially because I am a girl and I beat him up. When I went to school with him in King's Landing, he tried to bully me—tried. But, I avoided him most of the time and stayed out of Sansa's way because her precious Joffrey could do no wrong; she blamed me in everything." Arya took a deep breath to calm down. "After my fight with Joffrey at the school, I was heated. He and his friends had picked on me and I defended myself, but I was the one to get in trouble. Three guys targeted me and tried to humiliate me, but I was wrong for refusing to be a victim. Going on about how I must hate her and that I beat up Joffrey for no reason. Then she got upset because I didn't want to talk to her and said that no one was ever going to want me. I—I don't know why it bothered me, I wasn't interested in dating, but it did. So, I said I didn't care and she said it was because it wouldn't make a difference if I did. That my friends were only my friends because they were forced to and because there were perks being friends with a rich girl desperate for friends. She said that no one cared to really be my friend and that I had to be adopted or a bastard like Jon." Catelyn gasped at the revelation. "She then said that boys stayed away from me because I was ugly and that…I'd be a full blown mare."

By the end, Catelyn was visibly angry. It was clear that Sansa's words hurt Arya just as much as it had when they were first uttered to her.

"She said all of that to you?"

"Mom," Arya sighed at her mother's tone. "Just let it go."

"Let it go," Catelyn repeated. "Why didn't you tell us? I know that we didn't listen to you that first day and you were mad at us, but what Sansa said was unacceptable."

"Yup," she agreed. "Now, you see why I called her a cunt."

"Arya," Catelyn began. "Although I understand why you were upset and lashed out at her, I can't agree with you calling your sister such a demeaning word."

Catelyn refilled their glasses.

"Perhaps," she mumbled. "It's just…Sansa lives in this fantasy world. Whenever something deviates from her delusion, she clings tighter to it."

"That's not fair, Arya," Catelyn said. "Sansa isn't you, Arya; she doesn't see life how you do and react in the same way. She wants to see the good in everyone, where as you see them for how they are. She is who she is and you are who you are. You have to accept that you two are wired differently," her mom said in a nurturing tone. "Disrespecting and hating each other only makes things worse."

At this, Arya perked up. "But, she didn't see the good in me," Arya pointed out. "I don't hate Sansa, mom. I'm just tired of her victim act. In her mind, everything I do is to spite her. Joffrey bullying me was flipped into me bothering him and trying to mess up her relationship; her friends taunting me was flipped into me making fun of them; her friend harassing, and then insulting me was flipped into me picking on him because he was her friend. Sansa has never asked my side of any story—she never defended me in anything. And, as soon as I defend myself against her words, she cried as if she wasn't the one who started the whole thing and tried to hurt me. She watched me get into trouble and never owned up to her part. So, no mom, I don't hate her, I just hate the weakness that lives in her; I can't force her to have a backbone and accept the consequences of her actions."

Emotionally exhausted, Catelyn rubbed her face.

"Mom, I don't want to come home," Arya admitted.

Catelyn snapped her head to look at her daughter.

"What," her mother said in a panicked tone.

"No," Arya hurriedly said, "What I mean is that I want to finish out school at Wholistic Core. I miss really do miss you and dad and my brothers, but I don't want to start over again. I already had to do that in King's Landing, then Wholistic Core, and now it'd be a new school if I moved. And I'd know practically no one there, friend wise. Also, you always remark on how great their curriculum is and that it's better than most private schools."

"Arya," her mom protested. "You've been gone away from home a long time. This will be your last year of high school before you leave for college and who knows how where you'll go."

"Mom," Arya smiled. "I know we've talked about Braavos being the top candidate, but I've been seriously considering going to the University of Westeroes at the Wall after I graduate. That means I'll only be a two hour drive away."

"But, you still won't be in the house," Catelyn argued.

Arya nodded in agreement. "But, isn't that better than having say…an ocean between us? You can drive to see whenever you want—I can come home more often and see you all."

"Are you saying that if we let you stay at Wholistic Core, you'll go to the University of Westeros instead of going to a school in Braavos?"

"Yes and no," Arya said. "I'm saying that if you let me finish out the year at the Core, there's a high chance I'm going to U Dubs."

Catelyn stared at Arya in confusion.

"U Dubs?"

"Yeah, it's a nickname for the school. The University of Westeros at the Wall is a mouthful to say."

The redhead nodded in agreement.

"Even if I agreed to it, I'd have to see what your father thinks," Catelyn explained. "And, as you said, there's a high chance not that you'd be going for sure."

"Mom," Arya whined.

"Fine," she relented. "When your dad gets home, we'll discuss it, okay?"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Arya said excitedly, as she jumped up and hugged her mother.

~*~*~*~

"Dad, you wanted to see me?" Arya opened her father's home office door as she knocked on it.

Ned gestured for her to come in. "Yes," he confirmed, as he pulled her gaze away from the computer and threw a smile at his daughter. Ned turned off the monitor and gestured for Arya to sit down.

Arya flopped into the chair, and then opened his cigar box and pulled out one. She put it in her mouth and puffed the unlit cigar.

"One day, we're going to smoke cigars together," she declared.

"Oh, we are," Ned, asked, as a smile played on his lips.

"Yep." Arya leaned back and settled comfortably in the chair as she looked at her dad. "Mom said that you wanted to talk to me."

Ned nodded. "Yes. She told me that earlier you two had a discussion about you wanting to stay at Wholistic Core. I'll admit, I'm a little surprised and thought you'd want to be home with you family." Arya began to interrupt, but Ned held up a hand. "But, your mother explained everything to me ad I remembered that you've always done everything on your own time except when we forced you to move to King's Landing, and then attend Wholistic Core. Even then, at least at King 's Landing, you were with your family, but Wholistic Core? You're in another state and all by yourself. Despite this, you've gotten fantastic grades, are a model student, and literally every update I receive about you talks about how you are one of the best students in the history of the program."

Arya's brows furrowed.

Sure, she obeyed the camp/institution, but they really thought that highly of her.

"You're excelling there, Arya," her said. "Not just academically, but emotionally. You were never a bad kid, despite how your mom and I handled everything a few years ago, but there is a noticeable growth—a heightened maturity that wasn't there before you left. I'd be certifiably insane to bring you back home, rather than letting your finish your last year there."

"Seriously, dad," Arya said, excitedly.

Ned nodded and said, "Yes."

Arya jumped up and ran to hug her father. "Thank you, dad."

"You're welcome, little wolf." Warmly, Ned smiled, and then kissed her head.

~*~*~*~

"Need help?" Arya stood next to her mother as Catelyn measured the ingredients.

At this, Catelyn stopped what she was doing and put a hand to Arya's forehead.

"Are you feeling all right, sweetie?"

Arya pushed her hand away. "Mom."

"Or…a plot come to life like one of those books Bran reads—'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'."

"Mooooom," Arya groaned.

"What?" Catelyn shrugged her shoulders as she put flour, eggs, and such into a bowl. "A mother can't be concerned when her child isn't acting like herself. Since when have you ever wanted to bake cookies and garden?

"I can't change and grow?" Arya picked up a spoon and Catelyn wordlessly assisted her daughter as to what to do next.

"No, you can," Catelyn acknowledged. "But, it's unusual and takes some getting used to." Carefully, the older woman placed her hand over Arya's and showed her how to properly stir. "When should I expect you to ask me to teach you how to cook?"

"I'm not," Arya laughed. Catelyn raised an eyebrow at her. "I know how to cook."

Mischievously, Catelyn grinned. "Oh great, so you'll help me cook dinner tonight then?"

"Oh, no, no, no…" Arya protested.

"Why not?" Catelyn greased the pan and looked at Arya.

"Because I'd be cooking for seven people," Arya said, as if her mother didn't know that.

"So, I did it for years," Catelyn, retorted. "Sometimes with a child hanging from my breast."

"Mom…" Arya threw a look at the woman. "You cooked like twice a month so you wouldn't lose your touch. Cooks prepared our meals most of the time."

"That's not the point," Catelyn brushed aside.

"Isn't it?"

"I'll let you eat cookie dough out of the bowl," she bribed.

The internal battle inside her head didn't last long as Arya said, "Deal."

~*~*~*~

Arya walked into the stable and watched her father as he tended to his horse.

"What's on your mind, little wolf?" Ned inquired, as he brushed his horse.

Arya went over and gently rubbed her own horse as she stared at it in contemplation.

"I'm a spoiled rich girl," she declared.

New frowned. "Sure, you're privileged, but I don't see the problem with that."

"Dad, the problem is that if I do something, money makes all of my issues go away, but when someone like Mycah does something, he's severely punished and suffers for the rest of his life," she explained.

"Did Mycah get into some kind of trouble with the law? In alert, Ned looked at Arya.

"No," Arya said. "But, he was punished for my actions all because he was poor and needed to be made an example of."

"Arya—"

"Dad," she interrupted. "Mycah's dad didn't deserve to get fired. Mycah doesn't deserve to have that weighing on his conscience, especially when he didn't do anything wrong."

"Arya, where's this going?"

"Even if you can't hire his dad back, can you get his a better paying job?" Arya crossed her arms and looked at her dad.

"Sweetheart, life doesn't work that way…"

"Yes, it DOES!" A hard glare was thrown at her father. "Robert wanted Mycah's dad gone and like that," she snapped her fingers. "He was out. Joffrey gets away with tons of shit and no one does anything because of who his family is. I see it all of the time—not just with the Baratheons," she spat. "But, with other rich people as well. They love us here, dad—Winterfell loves the Starks. They love you and would do anything for you. The only reason Mycah's dad hasn't been hired at a better job is because people think he angered the honorable Eddard Stark. If you'd just—just let on that it wasn't like that, then…it wouldn't be so hard for them."

Softly, Ned sighed.

"Arya, I can't promise you anything, but I'll see what I can do," he said.

"That's not good enough," Arya said, passionately. "Dad, you and I both know that what happened back then was fucked up on so many levels. I'm not saying get Mycah's dad hired for a job he isn't qualified for, but your word goes a long way and would really make a difference."

With that, Arya gave her father one last look and walked away.

~*~*~*~

"Mom, did you make this sauce," Robb gushed, as he poured some of his chicken.

Catelyn smiled. "No, Arya did and she helped cooked dinner too."

"Really?" Robb and the rest of the table whipped their heads to look at Arya.

"Yes," Arya said, as she rolled her eyes. "And the house didn't catch on fire—what a shocker."

"You say that as if it's not a reasonable conclusion," Rickon quipped.

Her family chuckled at the playful jab, while Sansa laughed a little too loud.

Arya knew that Rickon didn't mean anything by it, but jokes like that made her uncomfortable, especially because her sister was laughing to make her feel bad. It wasn't as if Arya couldn't laugh at herself, she could, but certain subjects were sore spots for her. Such as the one Rickon told: it was like a reminder of her incompetence at being "girly" enough. People wondered why she wasn't drawn to it like other girls as if it should be natural to her because of her gender. They wondered why she was good at it and told her that if she wanted a husband and kids, she needed to know how to cook. When she stomped her foot and huffed, 'No!' They playfully 'teased' her about being born in the wrong body, but it wasn't just about her indifference to cooking, it was everything: her aversion to dresses, rolling around in mud, plying traditionally boy games, not caring for boys, and so forth.

Even at a young age, Arya knew that she never wanted to be a boy; she just liked the freedoms that boys had. But, also, many of the behaviors and activities people wanted to be apart of Arya, it wasn't authentic to who she was. Even though her family had their thoughts on how a proper young lady should act, they weren't so bad. She hated the expectations, but she could deal. It was the other people, who were judgmental, that drove her crazy.

"Well, coming from a person who actually did have a kitchen fire, you don't have any room to talk."

Catelyn whipped her head towards Rickon. "You had a kitchen fire?" She then looked at Arya. "And you waited until now to say something?"

Arya stuffed food in her mouth and concentrated on chewing.

"Mom, it wasn't that big of a deal," Rickon dismissed. "It was a small kitchen fire."

At this, Arya made a noise as she choked on her food.

"Rickon!" Catelyn's eyes widen as she picked up Arya's implication.

"Thanks, Arya," he said, sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Arya smiled, as she ate the rest of her food.

Later on, as Arya lay in her bed and finished up on her assigned reading, Jon knocked on her door as he opened it. Arya threw a look at him and waved him in. She bookmarked her page, and then placed it on her nightstand.

"You're finally spending time with me before I leave," Arya said, while Jon grabbed a chair and pulled it next to her bed.

"I'm sorry, Arya, I just had some shit to take care of," he apologized. "I didn't know it was going to interfere with spending time with you."

After the dinner they had Arya's first full day back, Jon and Arya discussed spending time together, but then Jon got called away on business and was tied up.

"I'm here now." Jon rested his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands as he looked at Arya expectantly. "What's going on at…the Core?"

Arya knew better than to tell her brother she was having sex now. Although Jon was her favorite and they got along great, she didn't think he'd take that news too well.

Nonchalantly, she shrugged. "Nothing worth talking about," she lied. "Schoolwork, teamwork challenges, character building workshops—the norm."

"I mean, besides that," he brushed aside. Widely, he grinned at Arya, and then asked, "Do you have any special male friends?"

"God no." Arya shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I'm not interested in dating," she declared.

"Why not," he inquired.

Arya shrugged. "I'm just not; it doesn't appeal to me. All the relationship bullshit and other shit that comes with it—no thanks."

Jon laughed.

"It doesn't have to be that way, you know?" Jon moved to sit next to his sister as an amused expression appeared on his face. "You just have to find the right person."

"Yeah, but does it have to be right now," she shot back.

For a moment, Jon seemed to consider her words. "No, I just think you'd enjoy having a boyfriend—someone who'd let you boss them around," he joked.

"I'm not bossy," Arya shouted, to which Jon laughed. "I'm not!"

"Sure, you aren't," he said, sarcastically.

"Whatever," Arya brushed off. "Besides, what the fuck is up with me wanting to date? You're weirder than dad when it comes to guys looking at me."

Jon looked at his sister. "I just told yo—"

"I know what you just said," Arya interrupted. "But, it's weird. You've always been overprotective of me and now you want me to have a boyfriend to boss around?"

At this, Jon sighed as he looked at his hands.

Naturally, he felt protective of Arya because she was his sister. Sansa was his sister too, but she treated him like an outsider—as if he didn't belong, which she picked up from his stepmother. But, Arya always loved him and treated him like he was her full-blooded brother, but honestly, he didn't think Arya would care if he wasn't her real brother—she'd love him just the same. Perhaps, it'd be heartbreaking at first, but they truly had a bond that was deeper than what they had with their other siblings.

"Arya, you're overthinking this," he said, as he tried to steer Arya in another direction.

Arya rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid, Jon."

"Of course you aren't," he agreed. "But, you're not a little girl anymore and I've come to terms with that."

"Oh, really," Arya smirked. "So, if I told you that I was spending my time having hot, sweaty sex, you wouldn't freak out about that?"

Jon's blank expression told her that he was indeed freaking out. Slowly, he turned and looked at his little sister with panicked eyes, and then smiled.

"But, you're not having hot, sweaty sex," he choked out, and then faked laughed. Nervously, he scratched his head. "Dating doesn't mean you're having sex."

"Yes," she agreed. "But, it eventually leads there."

"Not always," he denied.

"But, most times, especially with teens—you were one once," she added.

Jon stood up. "It's getting late," he said. Jon knew Arya was messing with him because he wasn't being forthcoming behind his interest in her dating life. If Jon were her, he would find it odd as well that he was inquiring about her dating life. "I need to get to bed."

Honestly, Jon hadn't given Arya's dating life much thought until Ygritte asked about it. Jon's dated a few girls who inquired about his siblings, especially his sisters, but all of them gravitated to Sansa due to her feminine nature, warm attitude, and overall shared interests. Arya's tomboy nature and sarcastic one-liners usually steered them away from trying to get to know his younger and favorite sister. The other girls knew how close Jon was to Arya, but they were too annoyed and/or intimidated by her to actually put in effort.

On Arya's part, she either didn't think too much of them or believed that they tried too hard. Then, there was the other part she wouldn't admit: she was afraid that she would become less important to him and he'd have less time for her. As much as she'd tried to brush it off as irrational, she couldn't help but be insecure when it came to the women Jon dated. Eventually, he'd get married and have a family, then where would she fit?

But, Jon was more focused on the present and if he and Ygritte fit.

He knew she wanted more than whatever they were, but Jon was unsure if he could give it to her. Although his feelings ran deep for her, he was coming to terms with the reality that they didn't blend well, but instead, they reacted to one another like oil and water.

Admittedly, this conclusion flat out conflicted with Ygritte's desires for their future: meeting each other families and moving in together. She said she wouldn't mind being married to him if they ever made it that far. Despite this, Ygritte informed Jon that she hadn't mapped out their life, but rather, their relationship showed potential of lasting. Unfortunately, Jon really couldn't see that. There was this feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him they had a short shelf life and that he shouldn't prolong their relationship.

Jon shook the thought from his head as he recalled the conversation he had with Ygritte about Arya. Although she and Arya had never officially met, they did talk on Skype a few times when she happened to be at his place while he was conversing with Arya. After one of those occasions, she asked about Arya's dating life. At first, Jon was confused, and then immediately became defensive at the thought of some twerp trying to date his sister.

"You know nothing, Jon Snow," Ygritte mumbled, as she shook her head.

"I know nothing," he said in disbelief. "I know how guys think and I'm sure as hell not going to let them near my little sister."

"How," Ygritte challenged, as she laughed. "You two are literally thousands of miles away from each other. What are you going to do when, not if, Arya comes home with a guy one day? Beat the shit out of him?"

"Ygritte," Jon said in a warning tone.

"I'm just saying, Jon." Ygritte spun around in the desk chair as she explained her opinion on the matter. "You go on about how smart Arya is, but then get all overprotective at the thought of her dating as if she'll get duped by some guy."

"Because I know how guys think," he repeated.

"No, because you know nothing," she mockingly repeated. "If you knew your sister then you'd know she wouldn't get involved with guys like that—she's too smart for that."

"And you know my sister better than me," he questioned.

"Apparently," Ygritte shrugged. "From what you've told me about Arya and from what I picked up talking to her, the last thing you have to worry about is her getting duped. She's got her head on her shoulders and would eviscerate a guy if he ever thought about trying to pull a stunt on her."

Jon quietly stared at Ygritte as spoke.

"Even if a guy had intentions of 'duping' Arya, he'd immediately be dissuaded after really getting to know her. He'd be certifiably insane to stick with such a plan."

"I guess I'm so protective of Arya because she has always had it difficult growing up," Jon explained. "She's just so misunderstood—even by me and understood and I don't want some douche trying to play her."

"And that's why you know nothing," Ygritte said, affectionately this time. "You're too busy worrying about the wrong thing. Arya can take care of herself; you should be worried about her finding a guy who accepts her as she is and adores her."

"Ygritte, besides the fact that I know Arya isn't interested in dating right now, she'll plenty of time to find the right guy—as in, guys who are older and actually mature."

Ygritte sighed.

"Jon, it's not a question of maturity," she explained. "Undoubtedly, they'll be guys interested in Arya: she's pretty, smart, and adventurous. But, at the same time, she's very opinionated and stubborn. She does what she wants and doesn't to all of that societal bullshit. For girls like that, when they do want to date, it gets lonely because they guys that are a catch are rare and the guys that aren't worth shit are common." She took a deep breath and looked at Jon. "And then when you do meet the 'right' guy, he could be this incredibly mature and fantastic guy, but he doesn't truly understand you. Then what? You can't just bank on everything working itself out."

"Ygritte, why do care so much," Jon asked, softly. "Arya's my sister not yours." As if Jon knew he said the wrong thing, he immediately said, "Let me guess: you were about to say I know nothing."

Silently, Ygritte looked at Jon and gave him a sad smile. "No, I was going to say, Arya reminds me of myself when I was her age; we may not be exactly alike, but I get certain parts of her. That's why I care." Ygritte got up and walked to the door. "I'm tired, I'm going to go to bed."

Jon was confused. He felt as if he missed something.

"Ygritte," he called after her and she stopped. "I appreciate you trying to look out for Arya, but you gotta admit that boys her age are stupid."

Ygritte leaned against the doorframe, and then folded her arms. A pensive look crossed her face.

"Boys at any age can be very stupid," she replied tiredly.

Jon felt as if he should know what that meant.

"Goodnight." Ygritte mumbled, and walked to his room.

In contemplation, Jon looked at his phone. Should he call her?

~*~*~*~

The rest of Arya's time home was spent hanging out with her family and siblings. It seemed to end just as quickly as it began.

Earlier in the week, Arya had gotten the morning after pill before she went over Mycah's. She could feel the pharmacist's judgmental eyes on her, but she didn't care. Society already judged everything she did and would find more reasons to criticize her, so why should she invest in their opinions of her? Regardless of what they thought about her having sex or, any young girl for that matter, it'd be a shit storm if she were to get pregnant as a teen. That's not even including how here family would react. Nope. She didn't have time for it.

Arya stuffed condom boxes deep in her suitcase, and then threw clothes on top of them. She didn't know if they'd be enough until Thanksgiving, but she hoped it was. She then closed the suitcase and exited her room. As she walked down the stairs, Robb appeared beside her and took the suitcase. They said their goodbyes as Robb but her suitcase and other things into the car. Rickon and Bran hugged their sister and told her that they'd see her again in a few months. Lastly, Jon pulled her into his arms and talked about how good it was to see her and that he'd he be better about coming around and seeing the family.

Arya arrived back at Wholistic Core after dinner and tiredly fell to her bed.

A light knocking on Arya's window awoke her. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes, and then opened the window already knowing who was other side. Involuntarily, a smile appeared on Arya's face. "Hey, Gendry."

"Hey," he said, returning her smile in equal vigor. "I knew you were supposed to return today and when I didn't see you I just figured you were busy or something."

"No, just tired," she explained. In a companionable silence, they looked at each other as she stood in her room and Gendry stood outside. "Get in here," she commanded, as she stepped away from the window.

Happily, Gendry hopped through the window and stood in front of Arya. He gently grabbed her hips and pulled her forward, and then hungrily kissed her.

"I missed you," he admitted.

Arya kissed him back.

"I missed you too," she said seriously.

Truth be told, Arya not wanting to come home was mostly about Gendry. Although she did mean the other things she explained to her mother, she couldn't leave Gendry without saying goodbye. And she already had a hard enough time as it was with the idea that they'd have to separate once she graduated.

But, they could keep in touch, couldn't they? Who said that they'd have to lose touch once she moved back home? They weren't children.

Slowly, they made their way to Arya's bed and laid down facing each other. In her mind, Jon's words were on repeat.

"It doesn't have to be that way."

"You just have to find the right person."

"You just have to find the right person."

"You just have to find the right person."

"It doesn't have to be that way."

"You just have to find the right person."

Their legs became tangled as they settled comfortably on the bed. Carefully, Arya moved closer to Gendry as he closed his eyes.

"We should date," she whispered.

Gendry stopped breathing for a second, and then resumed a moment later.

His eyes remained shut as he said, "Okay."

"Okay," she nodded, and then smiled before kissing Gendry. After a moment, she gave her words some thought. "By date I mean be boyfriend and girlfriend not go on a date," she clarified.

Finally, Gendry opened his eyes.

"I know," he smiled.

"Okay," she said. Arya flipped onto her back and looked at the ceiling. "We're dating," she said to herself. She didn't feel different, but she did. She then looked at Gendry. "You're my boyfriend."

"You're my girlfriend," he shot back.

"You're my boyfriend," she repeated, and then deeply kissed Gendry. "You're my boyfriend."

With a smile on her face, Arya sleepily closed her eyes as she lay in Gendry's arms.

"Don't forget to leave before wake up call," she warned.

"I'm not," he assured.

Overall, relationships didn't appeal to her, but a relationship with Gendry did.


	6. A Matter of Honesty

"Are you excited about graduating early, little wolf," he dad asked. He smiled proudly at her as Arya ate her food.

Not really, she thought to herself. Instead, she said, "It's okay, I guess."

"It's okay, you guess," her mother repeated. Her parents always knew she was on track to graduate early, but it never occurred to Arya when she was at Wholistic Core. She'd taken many advanced and honors classes not realizing that she was ahead by a year. Rather than having a whole year with Gendry and Hot Pie, she'd robbed herself left a year early. "This is exciting news."

For you maybe, she inwardly sighed.

Arya just wanted to spend all of the time left she had with Gendry.

~*~*~*~

Gendry stopped so Hot Pie could catch up to him. Although Hot Pie was getting in shape due to all of the physical activities, he still lagged behind Arya and Gendry. On this occasion, it was just he and Gendry. Several times Gendry had slowed down, but Hot Pie hadn't gotten more and more tired and, consequently, slower.

"Come on, man, we're almost there," Gendry encouraged.

Hot Pie stopped for a moment and heavily leaned on the walking stick Gendry had given him earlier. Seamlessly, Gendry had adapted to life in the wilderness where as Hot Pie was still lost in the woods, figuratively speaking. Life in the wild was interesting and nice, but he missed the comfort and familiarity of the city lights. He knew the way of life there—the culture, where as at Wholistic Core, it was still a learning process. Hot Pie supposed that it was worth it; he was getting his GED and learned skills that he wouldn't have been able to if he never left Flea Bottom. But, still…who enjoyed spending time in the forest with animals, bugs, and shit?

Gendry walked towards Hot Pie when Hot Pie didn't make any signs that he was going move.

"Hey, is everything alright, man?" Gendry placed a supportive hand on Hot Pie's shoulder and looked at him with concern. "You need to sit down?"

"No," Hot Pie exhaled, and then wiped his sweat-covered forehead. Gendry handed him a bottle of water, which Hot Pie quickly demolished. "Thanks…I just needed a little break is all." Hot pie went to a tree and used it to lower himself to the ground.

"Okay." Gendry nodded as concern still covered his face as he sat next to him friend. "But, if you need to stop again, you'll tell me, yeah?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. Silently, Hot Pie tossed pebbles along the path as he caught his breath. Next to him, Gendry appeared to be unfazed by the strenuous challenge. Typically, the camp allowed them to choose their partners, which switched it up so that they wouldn't rely on the same people. Wholistic Core wanted to teach them how to work with others even if they weren't all on the same level. It was about extending yourself to someone or allowing others to help you and putting pride aside on both sides.

In the real world, you couldn't always work with your friends or people who were on the same levels as you and the camp felt it was best to learn now rather than the hard way. Although Gendry and Hot Pie were friends, the camp, as well as everyone in it, knew that Gendry and Arya preferred to work together and were the best out of everyone when they did. So, Hot Pie's and Gendry's pairing wasn't a matter of friendship, but leading, patience, and teaching his partner. Hot Pie was supposed to adapt to Gendry's leadership, learn patience as well, and be opening to learn in real time situations.

Despite, their friendship, the camp was surprised at how well they worked together, which was really due to Gendry's patience and Hot Pie's thinking before acting. It made things so much easier, especially since they knew they'd have to accommodate if they wanted to do well in the challenge.

"I was kissed after the dance," Hot Pie blurted out.

"Really, way to go, man," Gendry said, cheerfully, as he clapped a hand against Hot Pie's back. "How was it?"

Hot Pie bit his lip and looked at the ground. "Awkward, weird…embarrassing."

"Man, don't be hard on yourself," Gendry said in a supportive tone. "A lot of peoples first time kisses are awkward. You just gotta practice at it."

At this, Hot Pie's face turned red. "But, I don't wanna practice at it."

"Then, how else you expect to get better at it," Gendry explained. "If this is the case, are you only going to have sex once if it's awkward?" Gendry laughed as if to indicate Hot Pie was being ridiculous. "Besides, clearly this girl likes you if she kissed you first—I'm quite sure she wants to practice."

Gendry knocked shoulders with Hot Pie to let him know he was overthinking it.

"He," Hot Pie corrected.

Gendry looked at Hot Pie in confusion.

"He," Hot Pie repeated again. "Doug Barnaby kissed me after the dance."

In realization, Gendry eyes widened in surprised and suddenly Hot Pie's weird behavior made sense the past three months. He's been struggling with his sexuality. Hot Pie's first kiss wasn't awkward, weird, and embarrassing because it'd been his first kiss; it was awkward, weird, and embarrassing because it'd been from a boy. Gendry had only known Hot Pie to be attracted to girls and he suspected that his friend had only looked at girls as well. It was then that Gendry noticed Hot Pie hadn't looked at his once since they'd sat down.

His friend was ashamed.

"Umm…how do you feel about it," Gendry asked.

Hot Pie quietly stared at his hands. "I don't know," he chocked out. "I've—I'd never thought of guys like that, you know. But, then he kissed me."

"Have you talked since then?"

At this, Hot Pie nodded. "Yeah. I tried to avoid him, but he cornered me to talk and said he was sorry that he kissed me unexpectedly and that it wouldn't happened again…unless I wanted it to."

"I like girls," he said adamantly. Softly, he added, "But, I liked that too."

"You can like both." Gendry turned his body towards Hot Pie. "It doesn't have to be either or; if it turns out you just like guys, okay." He shrugged. "Or if this was just curiosity, that's fine too. But, if you like both, then you like both. It's like saying you can like only one type of dessert because someone else does. They're not you and you aren't them."

"Thanks…Gendry," Hot Pie said introspectively. "Thanks for being cool about this."

"Why wouldn't I be," he rhetorically asked. "You're my best friend—my brother and I love you." He extended a hand to Hot Pie. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." He nodded as he took Gendry's hand. As they started walking, Hot Pie asked, "Can we just keep this between us?"

"Uh…sure," he agreed. "But, I was going to tell anyone." Gendry was somewhat offended that Hot Pie would ask such a thing. There was no way in hell he would tell someone's personal info without their knowledge, especially something like same sex feelings. It was a hot topic for many people and who knew what might happen.

"I didn't mean it like that," Hot Pie hurriedly explained. "I know you wouldn't tell anyone, but Arya isn't just anyone."

"You don't want me to tell Arya?" Curiously, Gendry stared at his walking partner. "I wasn't going to because that's not my business to tell, but if you afraid Arya is going to freak out about it, don't be. I'm pretty sure she's doesn't give shit either way."

"It's not that just…" Hot Pie trailed off. "It's not that."

Gendry weighed his options and decided it was better to drop the subject. If Hot Pie didn't want Arya to know, he had to respect that.

As soon as the reach the finish line/camping area, Arya greeted them. Hot Pie said hello before he headed off.

Slightly confused, Arya stared at him as he walked away, and then indulged Gendry in conversation. Hot Pie's greeting was polite, but lacked warmth and familiarity. He didn't exactly do anything wrong, but it felt off at the same time. Gendry was confused himself, but couldn't exactly bring the subject up because he'd have to tell Arya what they were specifically talking about. She didn't like generalities, so she'd prod and prod until he revealed the content of their conversation, which meant breaking his word to Hot Pie. He'd never explicitly lie to Arya and rather her get angry with him not saying anything than her upset about him lying. Truth be told, Gendry didn't honestly believe Hot Pie's odd behavior towards Arya had anything to do with him struggling with his sexuality.

When Gendry really thought about it, Hot Pie had been acting odd towards Arya for a while. Specifically, a few days after they announced that they were dating. For a fact, Gendry knew that Hot Pie didn't have feelings for Arya and he knew she didn't do anything to make it seem as if she did. So, that cancelled out anything on the romantic front. And it couldn't have been an argument or disagreement because Arya wouldn't have been so confused. Regardless of if she was right or nor, Arya was perceptive enough to know why someone would be upset with her or, at the very least, point to the situation.

Gods, they both were baffled and Hot Pie wasn't being exactly forthcoming either.

~*~*~*~*~

Arya was a tall glass of water and he was parched.

Very soon after their lips disconnected, the reconnected again and again and again.

Gendry moaned into her mouth as she eagerly slid up and down on his cock.

He met her thrust for thrust as he jerked his hips upwards and watched her gasp. Arya pushed down harder; Gendry met her intensity. Her gasps were sharper and his groans were deeper.

One of her hands was splayed against the wall as the other dug its nails into his shoulder.

She was getting close.

Arya tended to get more aggressive—both consciously and unconsciously—when she was about to climax.

Without breaking rhythm all that much, the two managed to maneuver themselves so that Gendry was on his back against the bed rather than sitting up. Tightly, his hands gripped her waist as she rocked against him while her hands gripped his chest in her lust-induced daze. Gendry loved her like this: in the zone and slave to the sensation…to the throbbing between her legs. Uninhibited.

As Arya sat up, she took Gendry deeper and his eyes just about rolled to the back of his head. Her hands got tangled in her hair as she bit her lip and her hips summoned her orgasm. She would not be denied. Gendry caressed her breasts, and then leaned forward to suckle on them as he slowly pulled her close and threw his legs off of the edge of the bed. He'd have to get her off since she tired herself out too soon to do it herself. Arya loved making herself cum while riding him, but her pace had slowed, which is when Gendry took over.

They weren't always hard and fast; sometimes they were nice and slow or they simply touched and explored.

Another sharp gasp escaped Arya as Gendry leaned her over the edge and above his lap. She grabbed him tightly to pull him closer and deeper.

"Deeper," he asked.

Gendry felt her head nod affirmative against his cheek and immediately complied.

A few strokes later, Arya muffled her moans into his neck as she finally same. Gendry's released followed after hers by mere seconds as he muffled his own moans into her shoulder.

Contently, Arya lay on Gendry's chest as he wrapped an arm around her. Tenderly, he kissed her forehead as his squeezed her back. She smiled into his chest and traced her fingers along his arm.

"I'm glad we're doing this," he whispered.

Arya softly rubbed his stomach. "What? Having sex?"

Gendry chuckled. "No, dating, but I'm glad that we're doing the other thing too."

"Me too," Arya agreed. She lifted her head and looked at her boyfriend. Although they'd been together for almost three months, Arya was still in disbelief about having a boyfriend.

"I love you," he stated. Arya leaned forward and kissed him.

His nose nuzzled hers and she laughed against his face at the disgusting affection she secretly loved. "I love you too."

If it's been any other guy, Arya would've been scared off using the L word three months in. But, it was Gendry and he was her best friend, so she'd let him get away with saying it one month in. And she did love him. And it wasn't just as her friend. She was in love with him. She was in love with her boyfriend who was also her best friend.

Her smile faltered a bit

That feeling she had after the first time they had sex returned shortly after they began dating. Rather than running away or keeping Gendry at a certain distance, she expressed her fears to him: Arya was afraid of what would become of them once they graduated.

Would they be broken up by then?

Would they still be together?

If so what would they do about the distance?

Did they even want a long-term relationship?

Arya said that she'd try for him, but she didn't feel comfortable with long distance dating and Gendry echoed the same sentiments. Gendry also verbalized the same fears of not wanting their romantic relationship to ruin their friendship if they were to break up, which a long distance relationship might do. They didn't want to risk losing another this time after almost losing one another months ago.

They spitballed doing a trial run after graduation and give it a few months to see what happened, but ultimately, decided against it. In the end, they concluded that it'd be better to break up before they left camp rather than leave it up to chance and not have each other in the end. They enjoyed dating, but Arya and Gendry rather still maintain their friendship than take a chance and lose everything they had.

Although the thought saddened Arya from time to time, she really did agree with the decision they made.

She peppered a few more kisses on his lips before she pulled away and asked, "You know what's going on with Hot Pie? He's been acting weird towards me for the past few weeks."

"I don't have a clue," he admitted. "I don't know what's up with him. I've been thinking about talking to him."

"Me too," Arya agreed. "I just don't know what I could've done to him or what I said that offended him. He's not rude, he's just…"

"Standoff-ish," Gendry provided.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "It's like he keeps me at arms length and I didn't do anything wrong…or, at least, I don't think I have."

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Gendry rubbed her back as he looked at his girlfriend.

Contemplatively, Arya stared him. "I was thinking about that. He'd be more open to talk to you, but his issue is with me, you know? Even if he does talk to you, that doesn't mean he'll talk it out with me or that you'd convince him to."

Gendry nodded at the validity of her assessment.

"I don't know what to do," she said semi-hopelessly.

Although Gendry meant a lot more to Arya than Hot Pie did, it didn't mean that's he didn't care about him and that he was unimportant…that she wouldn't care if there relationship turned sour, which it did.

"We'll figure something out," he promised.

~*~*~*~

It took another month for Arya to narrow down where the problem lay; the possibility occurred to her as she spitballed ideas with Gina.

"Hot Pie's issue with me definitely has to do with my relationship with Gendry," Arya concluded.

Gina thought over Arya's conclusion and said, "We've ruled out jealousy as a possibility and it couldn't be that he feels like a third wheel. If so, Gendry would be getting the same treatment."

"Not if he's afraid to lose both of his best friends," Arya countered.

"True," she agreed. "But, why you and not him? I understand that he is closer to Gendry as a result of similar backgrounds, but Hot Pie has also been honest and direct with you, right? Why would a person who has always been straightforward decide to not only hold you at arms length, but also not explain his problem with you either? His behavior says that this is an issue he has solely with you and not something he simply placed the sole blame on."

"While at the same time being about my relationship with Gendry," Arya murmured. He's not jealous and, now that she thought about it, she didn't think he felt like a third wheel. Arya looked at Gina who had a thoughtful expression on her face. "You know what it is, don't you?"

Gina gave a tight-lipped smile. "I don't know anything," she stated. Correcting Arya, she replied, "But I believe I know what the issue is."

Arya rolled her eyes.

Gina ignored Arya's reaction. "Think about every discussion you've had with Hot Pie about your relationship with Gendry and not just when you two official got together."

Arya took Gina's suggestion, which narrowed it down to one conversation: the night of the dance.

"I lied and said nothing was going on between me and Gendry," she stated. "But, I also apologized to Hot Pie when we told him about us."

"As true as that may be," Gina acknowledged. "Was that enough?" At Arya's confused expression, Gina elaborated. "Would you immediately accept say…Sansa's apology if she ever offered one? And if she did, would 'I'm sorry' alone be sufficient? I don't claim to know everything or even most things, but with everything we've discussed, doesn't this possibility seem highly probable: Hot Pie is mad at you and not Gendry because you lied and he believes you gave an insufficient apology."

It did make sense, but what more did Hot Pie want her to do?

Grovel at his feet?

"That's time." Gina's gaze lingered on her watch before she gathered her things. "I hope to hear that you've made progress with Hot Pie when we meet again."

"I hope so too," Arya mumbled.

~*~*~*~*~

"Arya, if you want my attention, you don't have to play hard to get," a guy named Sean stated. "But, I'm always hard when I think of us together."

"Which is ironic because I always vomit when I think of us," she said drily. "Now, excuse me while I go empty my stomach."

"Ha ha, funny," Sean replied. "Other girls wish they were lucky enough to have me even look at them."

"Well, it appears that my luck has turned bad." Sean's friends chuckled, which made the guy in question glare.

"Oh, I forgot, you've marked your pussy as 'Gendry's only' holding out hope that he'd even sniff it."

Arya shot back, "The same way you're begging to." Before Sean could respond, Arya continued, "Whether or not I want to fuck Gendry, not only is none of your business, it isn't any different from any other girl here and, correct me if I'm wrong, he's not fucking any of them either."

"But, you're best friends with him and you all spend most of your time together and he still isn't interested." Inwardly, Arya laughed. There were pros and cons to keeping their relationship secret. Pro: not being separated. Con: both of them being hit on by other people. But, Arya couldn't help but to feel that this situation was more of a pro than a con as she laughed at his hurt feelings.

"He's not?" Arya mysteriously grinned at Sean to make him doubt his assumption. "Then again, he wasn't interested when Tammy put her hands down his pants, when Fiona stuck her tongue down his throat, or hell, even when guys have hit on him. So, either he's asexual or very private about his sexual escapades. But, maybe you're right; maybe he's not interested in me or anyone else here for that matter. And maybe, just maybe, I turned him down."

As Arya spoke to Sean, she really thought about how people needed to keep their hands, mouths, and other parts to themselves. It's one thing to flirt with someone or see if they're interested and another to force yourself on them, which as happened on Gendry on a few occasions—even more so than her. She wondered how he kept his cool. She barely kept hers when he told her about the incidents. Arya knew they believed he was single, but that still didn't excuse their behavior.

She added that last part in hopes that she didn't reveal too much and so they'd re-analyze their assumptions about her relationship with Gendry. Sure, she was a bit possessive of Gendry. And yes, she wasn't exactly the subtlest about it, BUT that didn't mean Gendry held all of the power or that she didn't have the power to turn him down.

Besides, it was moot anyway: they were fucking. Not just fucking, but also dating—after she asked him out and he agreed.

Later on, after Arya left her last class for the day, she saw that Sean playing football in the Quad. With her luck, if she passed by and he saw her, he'd say something and she really didn't feel like arguing with him. But, as of now, he didn't see her. Arya made a sharp right into Cabin Zone E and decided to take the long way around to get to her cabin area.

As she walked, Arya remembered that her science partner Doug lived in this zone. He was just as smart as her, if not, smarter and she did have a few questions to ask him. She decided that since she was in the area, she might as well ask him his input on her ideas. Usually, she asked first before dropping by unannounced, but Doug did say she could drop by at any time.

Just as Arya knocked on Doug's door, she heard Sean's voice. She turned and saw that he was near, but hadn't seen her. Hoping to not offend Doug for not only coming by unannounced, despite his comments, and then entering his cabin without knocking, Arya took her chances to avoid Sean.

She softly closed the door as to not alert Sean, and then turned around to explain herself to Doug.

Immediately she froze like a deer in headlights.

Quickly, she placed her hands over her eyes as she began to panic and mouth 'Oh my God' over and over and over.

"Arya," she heard Hot Pie's voice exclaimed.

"Oh my God," she said aloud, this time. "Umm…uh—"

Abruptly, Arya left the cabin and briskly walked to her cabin.

In disbelief, she paced back and forth in her room. She wasn't shocked Hot Pie was gay, well, she was shocked, but it wasn't a big deal to her. But, she hadn't planned on walking in on him and Doug or Hot Pie and any guy for that matter. Most importantly, she didn't know If Hot Pie wanted her or anyone else, besides the guy he was involved with, to know true orientation. Like, that was a big deal, especially considering the city he came from, which tended to be very homophobic.

She couldn't pretend like she didn't know; all she could do was be supportive and behave as she always has because there was nothing to change.

She'd just wait for Hot Pie and come to her to talk to her when he was ready.

As soon as the thought crossed her, someone knocked on her door. Due to the urgency of the knocking, Arya assumed it was Hot Pie.

It was.

"Hey," she greeted.

Hot Pie walked around Arya without greeting her back. Firmly, he grabbed her arm, and then shut the door.

"If you're worried about me telling anyone or judging you," Arya began. "Don't be, okay. I'd never tell your business to other people and I don't care if you're gay."

"I'm NOT gay," he spat out. Hot Pie clenched his jaw as he glared at Arya. Arya squinted her eyes at him as she recalled what she just saw: Hot Pie's head between Doug's legs with Doug's cock in his mouth, enthusiastically sucking. "I'm said I'm NOT fucking gay, Arya."

Arya raised her hands. "Okay…I'm—I'm sorry."

"I still like girls, but…I—I—I like boys too," he admitted. "I'm not gay, but I'm not exactly straight either."

"Bi," Arya provided.

Hot Pie shrugged. "I don't know…"

"When did you realize that you liked boys…too?"

Hot Pie looked at Arya, and then took a seat at her desk. Arya sat on her bed across from her.

"After Doug kissed me," he admitted. "I liked it and tried to deny it, but I wanted to do it again and Doug said that if I was interested, we could take it slow."

"Are you two like, you know, dating," Arya asked.

"No," he said adamantly. "We're messing around. I never really thought about dating even before Doug kissed me, I just wanted to have sex and it's so much easier with guys to do…stuff because I don't have to pretend to be interested in order to…you know?"

Inwardly, Arya rolled her eyes. Hot Pie's answer was such a guy answer. It wasn't that he wanted to mess away or even that he was messing around with a guy, but that he didn't understand why some girls made it "harder" to have sex with them where as guys were more carefree about it. Guys may be pressured to have sex, but they aren't judged once they do it or because they gave into the pressure.

Also, Hot Pie was socially awkward so it made sense why he didn't have success messing around with a girl let alone kissing one.

Then there is the 'pretending to be interested.' Ugh…

Arya loved Hot Pie like a brother, but he could be really idiotic as well just like her own brothers.

"Yea," she agreed. She could call him out, but now wasn't the time for that. "But, are you sure that is what he wants?"

Hot Pie looked at her questioningly. "Huh?"

"I'm just asking if he wants to fool around too or if he wants to date to make sure your wires aren't crossed," Arya clarified. "If so, great; if not, then you two need to talk about that."

At this, Hot Pie nodded.

"I'm tired of being mad at you," Hot Pie said suddenly.

"Hot Pie, I've been thinking about it," Arya began. "And I'm sorry I didn't do enough to make it up to you when I lied about me and Gendry being involved."

Abruptly, Hot Pie looked at her. "You think this is about you not doing enough," he asked, incredulously. "Arya, you lied to my face when I flat out asked you if something was going on with you and Gendry. Even though I wasn't completely right, I wasn't completely wrong either. And you tried to make it seem as if it was all in my head."

"I'm sorry, Hot Pie," Arya sincerely apologized.

"I don't care about I'm sorries," Hot Pie said, dismissively. "I care about the fact that you lied to my face and that you didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth! We're supposed to be best friends, but how can I trust you if you aren't honest with me?"

At Hot Pie's accusations, Arya stomach tightened. "I was just trying to figure everything out," she weakly explained.

"And you don't think I fit into that equation?" Arya was confused. Before she could explain herself, Hot Pit continued, "You think I wanted to know if you and Gendry were dating just because it would be so super and awesome? Yea, I think you two would've been good together, but if ever shit blew up with you two what would happen?" Anger radiated off of Hot Pie as he spoke. "I know it was bad for you and Gendry, but what about me? What about the fact that I didn't know why my two best friends weren't talking and I didn't know how to fix it? Or if you two break up and hate each other and either I'm discarded or you make me choose—what do I do then?"

Arya was pissed. "It's quite clear you'd choose Gendry."

"Yeah, because he hasn't fucking lied to me," he shouted. "It's one thing to sneak around and it's another to flat out lie about it when I asked. I don't want to go through that again—I don't want to see you two fighting or feeling like I have to choose a side. I don't want to lose my best friends."

At the sound of Hot Pie's voice cracking, Arya's face softened. She didn't know that her and Gendry, really her, put Hot Pie through hell when they weren't talking back then. Arya had no idea that he took it so hard or that he was afraid that their friendship would fall apart.

"Hot Pie, you don't have to worry about that," she assured. "Gendry and I—we've already talked about that. We're going to break up after graduation so that we don't end up resenting each other because of the distance, so you're not going to lose us."

"You can't promise that," Hot Pie retorted.

"I can," she shot back vehemently.

"Like you promised Gendry that nothing would change after you two had sex?" Arya froze.

"This is different." Arya bit her lip. "Because of what happened back then, I'm going to make damn sure that I don't lose you or Gendry when we break up, okay?"

This time Arya's voice cracked.

"I don't want to go through that again and I don't want there to be anything between us where you have to choose him over me or ignore me." Tears slowly fell from the corners of Arya's eyes. Harshly, she rubbed them away. "Okay?"

"Okay." Hot Pie nodded.

"I know we don't do this much, but bring it in, big guy," Arya said, as she gestured with her hands for him to come to her as she walked to him. She pulled Hot Pie into a hug and squeezed tightly. "I'm sorry for being stupid."

She felt Hot Pie smile against her hair. "One way to know that an Arya Stark apology is sincere is if stupid is included in it."

They both laughed before letting each other go.

"Well, I was," she said. "And I'm sorry I lied to you. You were right to be concerned."

"You're fine." Hot Pie sighed. "This whole being mad at your friend is exhausting—I don't know how you and Gendry did it."

"Well, I wasn't mad at him, he was mad at me," Arya clarified. "But, just like you, he had a valid reason. I was being stupid." Arya was silent for a moment. "Did you keep this Doug…thing a secret from me because you were mad at me?"

"Yeah," Hot Pie admitted. "I felt like if you didn't trust me, why should I trust you?"

"Makes sense," Arya agreed.

"But, I didn't think you'd tell anyone if you knew," he said. "I guess…I just wanted to hurt you by keeping secrets."

"Does Gendry know?"

"Yeah," Hot Pie confirmed. "I talk to him about it sometimes."

"That's good." And it was. She was glad Hot Pie had someone to talk to. "Is everything going to get back to normal now?"

Hot Pie smiled. "Yeah."

"Thank Gods!" Arya smiled back at her best friend. "Gendry's great and all, but it's not the same watching wrestling with him like it is you. He doesn't appreciate it like we do."

"I'm saying," Hot Pie agreed. "Gods, I hate watching wrestling with him. He roots for all of the wrong people and has no enthusiasm. I'm sorry I made you suffer through that."

Arya laughed.

~*~*~*~

"You and Doug are lucky it was Arya that walked in and not anyone else," Gendry said as he chewed on a cookie. "I don't see how you all forgot to lock the door."

"We didn't." Hot Pie tried to take a cookie off of Gendry's plate, but he slapped Hot Pie's hand away.

"You have your own box back in your room," Gendry pointed out.

Hot Pie rolled his eyes. "We didn't forget to lock the door, Arya broke it."

"I did NOT break it!" Arya stole a cookie from Gendry's box.

"Hey!" Hot Pie looked peeved.

Gendry shrugged. "She's my girlfriend and she did make the cookies." Arya leaned down to kiss her boyfriend. Both Arya and Hot Pie sat on opposite sides of the bed as Gendry laid across the bed with his head in Arya's lap.

"Yea, you did," Hot Pie contradicted.

"Doug said it was already broken." Arya faux glared at Hot Pie to which he laughed.

Hot pie waved off her comment. He honestly didn't care either way. His thing with Doug ended a few weeks after Arya caught them. It had nothing to do with Arya and everything to do with Hot Pie not wanting to date. He liked fooling around where as dating had commitments that Hot Pie wasn't ready to keep.

There had been another guy and two girls. Messing around with Doug had really given Hot Pie a confidence booster; he was more assertive and less insecure. After he made out and felt up on a girl, Hot Pie stated that he definitely still liked girls, but that his interest in boys wasn't a phase.

"I always hate it when you leave." It was Thanksgiving Break and Arya was going to visit her family again the next day. Her usually break lasted a week, but during the summer and Christmas breaks, they could last anywhere from 2-4 weeks.

"Well, I'll be back in a week," she said to cheer Hot Pie up.

"And what if you aren't?" Hot Pie looked at his hands.

"Then, I'll be back the week after that," she stated. "But, you know I love you guys and always come back on time to hang out."

"And what about after graduation," he asked.

Oh.

"Whether it's two feet or a thousand miles, we'll always be friends," she promised. "I'm not going to see you guys everyday like I do now, but we'll always be best friends. Always."

~*~*~*~

"I missed going to games so much," Arya groaned. "That game was wild and the crowd was so pumped—it was awesome."

Ned grinned at his daughter's enthusiasm.

Excitedly, Bran and Rickon spoke next to her as they exited the stadium and caught her up on previous big games that she'd missed.

A few weeks before Arya came home, Ned asked her what she wanted to go and, without hesitation, Arya said, 'Go to a basketball game.' She missed seeing the Winterfell Nightwatchers play games live even though she enjoyed watching some games on TV. 'It wasn't the said', she said adamantly and Ned believed her.

"This is our year," Arya proclaimed. "The Kingsguard is too top heavy and their coach is overrated. Braavos is far more of a threat and their team is way more balanced, but we can definitely beat them if we stayed focused."

"And if Dennis stops overplaying his players," Bran remarked.

Arya scoffed. "Why are people so obsessed with minute management—old teams, like the dynasty teams used to play their players the same minutes Dennis does, even more, sometimes. Like, you all seriously need to get over that."

"Yeah," Rickon agreed. "And people only watch to see the stars play."

"I don't," Arya and Bran said at the same time. "But, casual fans are the reason teams make money, so I guess they're important too," Arya said. "But, like I said, winning teams rely on their star players."

"Only during the playoffs not the regular season," Bran countered.

Ned smiled at his kids as they walked to the car waiting for them.

They picked some ice cream and toppings up at the store and went straight home right afterwards. Catelyn joined them as they all decorated their ice cream with various toppings and chose a movie to watch.

Since they went with an action movie and an adventure one before they, they settled on romance for Catelyn and Ned. Ned enjoyed all types of movies, but Catelyn was a romantic at heart. As they watched the movie, Sansa walked in and abruptly stopped once she saw Arya.

"Oh hey, sweetheart," Catelyn said. "You're home early, you watch to watch the movie with us."

Like her mother, Sansa was a romantic at heart as well and based off of Catelyn's response to the movie so far, everyone knew she'd love it too.

"No, I'd much rather go to my room," she said instead.

Catelyn sighed. "Oh, come on Sansa, it's not often we all spend time together," her mother said as she smiled at her oldest daughter.

"Robb and Jon aren't here," Sansa pointed out.

"You know what I mean," Catelyn disregarded. "Go make yourself a bowl of ice cream and come watch the movie with us."

Although Arya and Sansa's relationship was already bad due to, well, everything. It got worse once Catelyn and Ned found out the truth behind the "cunt" incident. Sansa had several privileges taken away since she couldn't adequately punished being at college. Her punishment ended a week before Arya came home. Catelyn and Ned also didn't trust her as much as they used to either, which hurt Sansa a lot. Arya laughed. In her mind, Sansa deserved it for not coming forward about her part in what happened.

Sansa listened to their mother and came back with a small bowl of ice cream topped with fudge and cherries.

Arya tried to ay attention to the movie, but she was bored out of her mind. She had nothing against the romance genre, but most of the movies were so cliché and cheesy that they weren't worth giving a second glance to let alone a first.

"Blergh," Arya gagged as she rolled her eyes as the main characters exchanged love proclamations. "Somebody shoot me now."

"Arya," her mother chastised. "Don't say such a thing."

"What?" Arya shrugged. "I need someone to put me out of my misery…are you, are you crying?"

Her mother wiped her eyes. "Brittney and Luther found their way back to each other after all they've been through." Arya made a face. "Oh hush. You just don't know how to enjoy a good love story."

Arya rolled her eyes. "What's to enjoy: they're generic," she complained. "You have some meet cute scene or a forbidden romance, and then throw in all of the clichés—they're the same exact story just different character names. No complexities, no nuance, or subtext. I don't care that they end up together, but don't insult me by half assing it."

"Arya," her parents chastised at the same time.

"I'm sorry," Arya said without sounding all that apologetic. "Romance is boring because there's no actual risk or danger—not literally, but the stakes. So, I'm bored by it."

"Well, it entertains me," Catelyn said. "And I don't need any complexities, nuance, or subtext to enjoy it."

"Which is why I'll continue to criticize it." Arya smiled at her mother's scoff.

"Mom, Arya doesn't appreciate love stories because she's never been in a relationship or had guys…" Sansa cocked her head to the side as if inspecting Arya. "Or girls interested in her. They've never wanted to hold her hand or even kiss her."

Arya sharply gasped as Gendry's tongue flicked the sensitive flesh between her legs. Her orgasm overtook her as one hand tightly clutched the back of his head and the other tightened its grip on their entwined fingers.

"Oh, Gendry," she gasped as she gulped in deep breaths of air. "Oh…fuck."

Gendry kicked and suckled on her nether lips as her orgasm subsided.

"Oh Gendry…" She sighed.

There was a trail of kissed placed on Arya's body as Gendry made his way up to her mouth and passionately kissed Arya. Their hands remained entwined as he pulled them over her head and placed his other hand behind her head. Arya slipped her tongue and his mouth and groaned as their tongues collided. She refused to break their kiss as he tried to pull away.

"I love you," he said against her lips as his forehead rested on hers.

"I love you too."

Gendry rested on his forearms as he looked at her tenderly and, Gods, did she know it was true.

"Sans—" Catelyn began as Arya interrupted her.

"Love is not defined by whether or not you're relationship, San," Arya mocked. "If you have such an elementary understanding of it, then perhaps you shouldn't be in a relationship, which is apparent to everyone who knows who your boyfriend is."

Ned snapped his neck to look at his younger daughter, "Arya!"

"Did I lie?" Arya looked at her parents.

Catelyn sighed. "That's not the point, Arya."

Arya laughed. "You hear that, San, mom said that's not the point? But, she didn't say that I was wrong." Before either ne of her parents could speak again. "Don't worry, I'm shutting up and going to my room."

Sansa glared at her as she walked away.

~*~*~*~*~

Contently, Arya sighed as Gendry's lips trailed down her jawline to her neck. She moved her neck to the side to give him better access. Gods, his tongue was so warm; Arya grinded against his torso.

Arya grabbed Gendry's head and made him face her. She sucked on his lower lip for a moment, and then deeply kissed him. He moaned into her mouth. They broke apart as Arya disentangled her body from Gendry's.

"Come on," he said. "It's getting late."

The moon sparkled on the lake as Arya and Gendry swam around. They weren't loud as they usually were to avoid being caught. They've been having weekly swims for a few months now and haven't been caught yet. Tonight was different. It was Arya's birthday and she was here with him instead of home with her family due to a snowstorm.

Silently, Arya splashed water at Gendry, which he then retaliated. Then went back and forth for a few minutes. Arya grabbed him and tried to wrestle Gendry, but he was too quick and strong for her. Instead, he tickled Arya.

"Shh," he warned due to her giggles. Gendry choked back a laugh as Arya continued giggling, but inaudibly this time. She tried

"You cheat," she said in a hushed tone.

"Nope," he whispered. "You're just a sore loser."

"We need to get back," Gendry reminded.

As they exited the water, Gendry grabbed her hand and they silently ran back to his room. When they entered the cabin, Gendry threw her a towel and Arya quickly dried herself off. Gendry ran a towel over his head, and then his front and back before he threw on a shirt.

"Sit down," he instructed.

Arya gave him a side eye. "Why?"

"Just sit down," he said softly. "And close your eyes.

Arya did as told and sat on Gendry's bed and felt the bed shift as Gendry sat in front of her.

She smelled something sweet.

"Open your eyes."

Widely, Arya grinned. "You baked me a cake."

Gendry laughed. "Yeah," he said proudly. He cut the slice of cake with a fork, and then brought it to her mouth. "Try it."

Arya ate the cake off of the spoon and her taste buds exploded. "Mmm…"

"You like it," he asked insecurely. "Don't lie to me."

"No, I love it, Gendry," she assured. "It's really good."

There was some frosting on Arya's lip, which Gendry kissed off. "Good."

After Thanksgiving, Gendry told Arya to tell her his favorite cake and he'd bake it. The night before she had to leave, they had an earlier birthday celebration (before they informed that her flight had been cancelled due to a snowstorm) and his first one was a disaster. But, this one was perfect. Warmly, Arya smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said graciously.

"You're welcome." Gendry then pulled out a bracelet from his pocket. It was homemade. He took her wrist and put the bracelet on her. As he tied the ends he said, "I made it for you. It's not much, but I couldn't buy you anything but I wanted to give you something."

"I like it." Arya slowly traced the wooden pieces with her fingers. Direwolves and…

"A bull," Gendry said as he watched her react to it. The bracelet was made up of semi-large beads that had been spray-painted silver, and then Direwolves heads carved on each bead minus one that had a bull's head on it. "I figured it wouldn't be too obvious you know. It's a birthday gift, friendship bracelet, and an anniversary gift of sorts all wrapped into one." He smiled as he touched the bracelet. "People know you love direwolves, so you can say it's a thoughtful gift, but the bull…you can say it's because you're bullheaded at times."

Arya laughed as she pushed Gendry on the chest. "How long did it take you to make this?"

"Two or so months," he answered. He smiled, and then admitted. "A lot of trial and error. I'm getting better a wood carving, but carving on wood beads is a bitch."

Arya and Gendry laughed.

"I'm glad you like it," Gendry said.  
"Nah…" Gendry raised an eyebrow. "I love it."

They briefly kissed before Arya snuck out of his window and went back to her own cabin.

~*~*~*~

Arya walked into the dining room and gave her mom and dad a kiss.

"Sorry, I'm late," she apologized.

"It's fine. Just go and wash your hands and sit down with us," her mother replied as she cut her food. Catelyn saw, what she presumed, some clothes draped over Arya's arm. "What's that? Did you go shopping?"

"Oh…" Arya moved her arm. "It's my prom dress."

Sansa choked on her food and hit her chest to clear her airways. "You're going to prom?"

"Uh…yeah." Arya lifted her sunglasses and placed them on her forehead.

"Why didn't you tell us, sweetheart," Catelyn asked. "I could've helped."

"It was a last minute thing," Arya confessed. "Some friends and I just decided to go to prom. No big deal."

"You don't have a date," Catelyn's voice took an incredulous tone.

Arya sighed. "No. I want to go with friends not some stupid boy who can't keep his hands to himself."

Ned and her brothers liked the sound of that.

"Or you weren't asked," Sansa 'innocently' proposed.

Catelyn narrowed her eyes at Sansa. "Can't you two get along for one night?"

"I didn't do anything, mom," Arya pointed out. She then looked at Sansa. "Maybe I wasn't, but then again, my self worth isn't dependent on if a guy likes me or not."

"Arya," Catelyn said her youngest daughter's name in a pleading voice. "Let's go upstairs and look at your dress."

Arya groaned, but complied with her mother's wishes.

Adoringly, Catelyn looked at the dress as she held it up to Arya's body.

"You're going to look so beautiful in this," she cooed "May I see you in it?"

Usually, Arya would argue with her mother, but she knew that Catelyn would only see her wear the dress in pictures and not in person, so Arya relented. It was silver and full length; she even put on the heels for good measure.

Catelyn excitedly clapped her hands together and held them against her chest as she watched Arya walk around her room in the dress.

"You look so beautiful sweetheart." Catelyn was teary eyed as she stared at her daughter.

"I promise to send you lots of picture, okay," Arya promised.

"You better."

They discussed that kind jewelry Arya would wear, if any, how she'd style her hair, and if she was wearing any makeup. Arya informed her that she would wear sparse jewelry, light make up, and would have her hair up and maybe some loose strands hanging.

Despite not wanting to, Arya decided to show her the rest of her family how she looked in the dress. They all complimented Arya and told her she looked beautiful. Inwardly, she blushed profusely, and then rushed upstairs to change.

Although Sansa and her often got into in when she came home, Arya was happy whenever she visited her family. She'd only come home for four days, but it had definitely been worth it.

As Arya finished putting her bag in the car, she noticed that her bracelet was gone. Frantically, Arya searched the car, her room, the family room, and kitchen, but she couldn't find it.

"What are you looking for, Arya," her father asked as Arya searched the couch cushions.

"Have you seen my bracelet?" She then looked under the couch. "It had the silver painted beads with the direwolves on it."

"Did you last see it down here," he asked.

Arya nodded. "I last saw it on my wrist and now it's gone. I don't even know how long it's been missing," she admitted.

"Do you want me to buy you another one?"

Arya frowned. "My best friend made it for me. I just can't believe I lost it."

"We'll find it, Arya, all right." Ned hugged her, and then put a hand on her head. "We have to get going or you'll miss your flight."

Arya looked as if she wanted to cry, but nodded in agreement.

Ned was touched that Arya found a friend that meant so much to her Arya and he could see the impact of that friend on her. He knew Mycah was important to Arya, as evidenced by their discussion a few months prior, but he could tell this was different. Arya cared about her best friend and the presents they gifted to her.

When Arya arrived at Wholistic Core, Gendry was waiting at the drop off area for her. He immediately took her bag out of the trunk and carried it for her. He instantly knew something was off.

"What's wrong?" He looked at Arya in concern.

Arya didn't answer him as she looked at the ground.

"Arya?"

"I lost your bracelet," she admitted apologetically. "I know I didn't take it off and I remember having it on the whole entire time, and then it was just…gone when I was about to leave."

"It's fine," he assured Arya.

Arya looked at Gendry. "It's not. I lost the bracelet you made me."

"Yeah, and I'll make you another," he replied. "I don't like that it's lost, but I'm not going to crucify you because it fell off of your wrist. I'll just make a better clasp next time." Gendry smiled at her, and then bumped Arya with his shoulder.

Against her will, Arya smiled back.

They day Gendry finished Arya's new bracelet, Arya's old one came in the mail. Ned explained that one of the maids found it in the laundry with the dirty towels and that it must've fallen off of Arya's wrist as she dried off. He meant to send it sooner, but it had been hectic at work and her dad sincerely apologized for not sending it sooner.

Arya wore both of them.

~*~*~*~

Arya and Gendry lie tangled in each other's arms as they thought about tomorrow.

Graduation.

Quietly, Arya sniffled as she dug her face into Gendry's chest. Gods, she was going to miss him; his stupid face, his stupid smile, his stupid laughs, his stupid smells, his stupid hugs, and his stupid kisses.

"I'm going to miss you so much," he whispered.

Without warning, Arya cried into his chest.

"Shh…" Gendry rocked her as he rubbed her back. "We're going to keep in touch and visit each other," he guaranteed.

Arya choked back tears.

She wasn't one of those girls who cried over a break up—she didn't get mopey. This was supposed to be a simple and painless break up between her and Gendry. No tears or tightness in the chest or wanting to do takebacks so she wouldn't have to let him go.

There was a knock on her door before someone entered, "Hey, Arya…"

Arya raised herself on her elbow and stared at camp counselor Diego before she lay back on Gendry's chest. What could they do to her—to them? She heard Gendry's heart beat fast at the sight of Diego.

"What," she asked as he voice cracked.

Diego was silent for a moment. "I'll just leave you two alone; we can talk tomorrow."

Arya cried harder into Gendry's chest.

~*~*~*~

"Look excited," Robb encouraged. "You've just graduated."

"I am excited," Arya's voice was monotone.

"Well, you've got me fooled," Jon remarked. Her half brother's been kind of down since his girlfriend—ex-girlfriend—Ygritte broke up with him. Arya really liked Ygritte and the redhead also sent her a graduation gift despite no longer being with Jon.

"Come on, so we make it to the award ceremony on time." Ned hooked his arm with Arya's as they walked towards their destination.

"Why it's not like I'm getting anything; you'll just see other kids rewarded." She leaned on her dad's shoulder

"And we should support them too," Catelyn stated. "As positively as you talk about the Core, I believe every kid earned their award and should be support regardless of relation."

When they reached their seats, Arya joined her peers as her parents sat in the family section.

One by one, various awards were rattled off. Leslie enthusiastically spoke about each recipient before she handed off the awards.

"Our next recipient has shown not only the skill, but the potential to defy the odds," Leslie stated. "When the odds were stack against him he stepped up to the challenged and surpassed the expectations of many and, just to let you know, we have high expectations for everyone here. He volunteers, is one of the top students in his class, and has become a leader to those around him. I present the award for Most Improved to Gendry Waters."

In surprise, Arya looked at Gendry and excitedly jumped in her seat. She stood up and clapped for him and he embarrassedly stood up at the loud applauds, and then hugged Arya and Hot Pie. He quickly walked up to the podium and collected his award and took a picture with Leslie.

"Okay, now we are down to our last award," she said excitedly. "This person has shown model behavior, completed every assignment exceedingly well, and has gone above and beyond for her fellow peers. This person has taught other campers new skills or has helped them practice it. Even went as far as teaching two of her fellow peers reading comprehension." In shock, Arya's head snapped towards Gendry.

"I present the award for Most Outstanding Citizen to Arya Stark."

A round of applause was made for Arya as stood up and hugged both of her best friends, and then accepted the award.

"You didn't think anyone noticed, did you," Leslie asked, as she took her picture with Arya.

Arya looked at the award and said, "I didn't."

"We've noticed," she assured.

Tightly, award held onto to the award. "Honestly, I was just having fun and enjoyed helping other people out when they needed it. I never thought I would get an award for it."

"We should never expect to get rewarded for doing the right thing," Leslie said. "But, it's nice when we are."

Arya nodded, and then headed back to her seat.

"And you thought you weren't going to get anything," Catelyn said as she examined the award. "You got the most important award."

"Mooooooo…" Arya said.

"What, you did," Catelyn said unapologetically.

Jon smiled. "You did. They always save the best for last."

Arya smiled. Her smile became wider when she saw Gendry and Hot Pie. She waved them over to her.

"Hey," she called out.

Gendry and Hot Pie looked for her, and then made their way to her.

"Mom and dad, these are my friends Hot Pie and Gendry that I've told you about," Arya introduced.

Curiously, both of her parents stared at Gendry as if they knew him.

Suddenly, her dad laughed. "You look like a buddy of mine when he was younger. What's your dad's name."

Gendry shrugged. "I don't know."

Immediately, Ned's face dropped. "I apology, Gendry, I meant no offense."

"No offense taken," he promised.

Ned recovered. "Well, it's nice to finally meet you two—we've heard a lot about you."

"Nice to meet you too, sir." Gendry shook Ned's hand, and then Catelyn's hand. "Arya talks a lot about her family."

"Yeah, she does," Hot Pie commented. "She'd promised we'd meet you all one day."

"And these are my brothers: Jon, Robb, Bran, and Rickon," she pointed out each one as she named them. Offhandedly, she said, "And that's Sansa."

Neither boy showed any ill will for Sansa as they all greeted Arya's brothers and sister enthusiastically.

THE NEXT DAY

Reluctantly, they broke apart promising that each time was the last time.

And, once again, they pulled one another into another kiss.

"Come on, Arya, what's taking so long," Bran complained as he knocked on her door.

Arya practically jumped out of her skin as she pushed Gendry away. "I gotta go," she stated the obvious. Her face crumbled as she wiped her eyes.

She was not one of those girls.

"Okay." Gendry hugged her tightly.

"You'll hear from me soon," she promised.

"I know."

"Arya!" Rickon banged on the door.

Gendry placed a kiss on her forehead, and then made his way over to the window. He gave her one last wave, and then climbed out.

Arya opened the door and held on tightly to her backpack straps.

"What was taking you so long," her youngest brother complained.

"I was making sure I didn't forget anything, numbnuts." She ruffled Rickon's hair and he swatted her hand away.

"Well, you should've packed sooner," he chastised. Arya rolled her eyes. Rickon habitually packed late and ALWAYS forgot something.

"I was double checking to make sure." She glared.

When they made it to the car, she threw her bag at Robb who then put it in the trunk of the limo.

As they drove away from Wholistic Core, Arya knew she was going to see Gendry again.

She was going to make sure of it.


	7. Wanterlust Part I

"I am leaving this harbor  
Giving urban a farewell  
Its habitants seem too keen on god  
I cannot stomach their rights and wrongs"  
-"Wanderlust", Björk

Arya walked into the kitchen and sat two bowls on the counter.

As if going through the motions, she opened the fridge and randomly grabbed several cans of pop that she stuffed in her sweatpants pockets, which were pretty large and could fit a few fans. She then went to the cabinet designated for the junk food and pulled out a bag of chips and some candy. She filled one bowl with chips and the other with candy. After she put away the food she took out, she sat one bowl on top of another, and then made her way back to the game room.

It'd been her turn to make the food run as Ned and Mycah battled each other on Xbox.

Carefully Arya sat the bowls down and took the cans out of her pockets and sat them on the table as well.

"Finally," Ned jokingly remarked.

Arya pushed him. "Shut up."

"Hey, hey! I'm playing here," he protested.

"Hey, hey, I'm playing here," Arya, mocked as she flopped on the couch beside him. As soon as she leaned into the couch, her phone rang. At the name, Arya grinned. "You losers can play another round."

Ned and Mycah didn't really hear Arya or look at her as she answered her phone and walked out.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," Gendry parroted. It was obvious by the tone of his voice that Gendry was tired. "I'm sorry about getting back to you right away…I've just been working a lot and I'm always drained when I get home."

"No, I understand," she softly replied, as she sat on the stairs.

Although Gendry's GED from Wholistic Core made his prospects a bit better, it still wasn't much in King's Landing without a college degree. The city was both ruthless to those with and without a degree. Overall, it was super competition and very much expensive, especially if you were poor.

Despite Gendry being far more educated when he left, he'd come back to the same environment: working non stop to help pay the rent and eating the bare minimum amount of food to survive. Gendry held three jobs and got a total of six hours of sleep on a good day. He didn't have any days off due to juggling his jobs and didn't have any free time. Arya didn't understand how he could live or even function like that for that matter.

"I can't come to your thing," he remarked. At her silence, he continued, "I can't take the time off, Arya; they told me not to come back if I did."

"Can they do that—is that even legal," she said in quiet outrage.

"This isn't Winterfell, this is King's Landing," Gendry pointed out. "It's filled with corruption. No one gives a shit about laws and if it's legal, especially when it comes to Flea's Bottom. They count on us willing to work for anything in any condition because we don't have any education or other job opportunities."

Arya silently thought, 'But you're not like them.'

As if reading her mind, Gendry said, "I can't leave my foster dad to fend for himself. He's not the warmest or kindest man, but he's always looked out for me and is the only family I have. Maybe if things get better, I can see if the Core still has some things lined up for me."

Forcefully, Arya bit down on her lip in disappointment.

She really wanted to see him.

"Yeah, hopefully."

"I'm really sorry, Arya," he said sincerely. "I did want to go to your welcome back-graduation party thing."

"Next time," she mumbled. She heard some shuffling over the phone. "Are you laying down?"

Gendry yawned, "Yeah. I'm tired."

"You're always tired," she quipped as Gendry deeply chuckled.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"How was work?"

Arya could hear the smile in Gendry's sleepy voice. "The usual: my boss is a fucking douche and he can die at any moment; my coworkers are idiots, and the customers are fucking annoying and stupid. I wanted to bash this guy's face in," he admitted. "The entire time he was telling me how to do my job and, when I asked if he wanted to do it he said, 'if he fixed his own car, he'd put people like me out of a job because it's not like we had much going for ourselves anyway."

"That fucking cunt!" Arya didn't see how people could be so rude and look down on others. "Gods, why do people like that have to be such fucking douchenozzles? I bet he can't even fix his car, let alone change a tire," she ranted. As Arya took a breath, she heard faint snores on the line. Gendry fell asleep.

For a few minutes, she listened to his light snores as her chest tightened with how much she missed Gendry.

Reluctantly, Arya hung up and went back into the game room.

~*~*~

Arya wasn't one of those girls: she didn't pine over boys.

Yes, she cried once (okay, twice), but that was because she was going to be separated by thousands of miles from her best friend—the only person whoever TRULY got her. That was it. But, she didn't get sad or mopey or upset about it.

Arya wasn't like other girls.

She didn't pine over boys.

There were other guys out there and it wasn't like it would've actually worked out with Gendry, especially with his work schedule. There wasn't any time for him to be a boyfriend—hell; he didn't have time for himself.

Why get upset over something that was doomed to fail?

Besides, Arya had a life: when she wasn't hanging out with Ned and Mycah—Ned visited a few times and Mycah hung out with her, but he had work, her siblings (the ones staying at home and that she got along with), her parents, and tons of games, books, and other shit.

The first few weeks after Arya's graduation, she spent time with her youngest brothers before they left. Bran was a camp counselor at some science camp and Rickon was with their uncle Benjen at the Wall. The Wall was a decent sized city with a great college, but that was the only attraction the Wall had going for it. There weren't any notable restaurants, stores, or businesses located there. But, that wasn't why Rickon was with Benjen further up North.

At heart, Rickon was a good kid, but he just got into too much shit. Too many times the school called their parents about the mischief Rickon gotten into and so did the cops and the neighbors. Initially, Ned and Catelyn tried brushed off his behavior as boys being boys, then "just a phase", before finally understanding that Rickon needed his issues addressed hands on before he found himself in jail. The Wall was also housed recent parolees and tried to rehab them for reacclimation into society. Benjen wasn't a criminal nor did he ever take part in criminal activities, but helping former criminals rehab themselves appealed to him. He believed that everyone deserved second chances and wanted to ensure that as many of them as possible could get it, but that his goal was that all would. Benjen convinced Ned and Catelyn that the wall would be good for Benjen—it'd be a scared straight of sorts, but they'd also get down to the motivation behind Rickon's behavior.

Although Arya had decided to go to the University of Winterfell at the Wall, she was undecided on what she'd major in. Somewhere along the line, her dream of being a cop faded away and now she was just…lost. As a suggestion, her dad told her she could intern at his job and see how she liked it. It would only be a month and she'd assist some of the mid level workers and eventually shadow a few positions. The opportunity would give her somewhat of an idea of what it was like to work in a corporate environment and she could also see if it was something she wanted to do.

As tempting as it was to say no, Arya figured her father was right and agreed to intern at his job. She'd get a little experience and she'd get to see her dad and Robb everyday. She saw her eldest brother from time to time, but not as much as before he started dating his girlfriend Jeyne.

After she started, occasionally, Arya ran into some of her dad associates and old friends who remembered her from when she was an infant or toddler. She'd chat with them for a bit before doing her coffee run, filing papers, making copies, or shadowing someone for the day. Every once in a while, she had lunch with her dad, Robb, or both, but mostly, she had lunch with other interns. Although she enjoyed the little she did, it wasn't something she could see herself doing for the rest of her life, which included the jobs she shadowed. She couldn't muster the passion both her brother and father had for their work.

Shortly after the internship ended, Arya immediately departed for the Wall. The plan was: she'd visit Jon while he was on leave as well as get a feel of the city before she moved. Then the following week, her parents would join her for summer orientation, and then they would drive back home together.

As Arya ate cereal and watched 'Adventure Time', she heard a knock at the door. She frowned. It couldn't be Jon. He said he'd be gone for a few hours and she knew he didn't drive back home that quickly.

"Jon Snow, I know you're in there," a loud, feminine voice said as she continued knocking. It sounded familiar to Arya. "I can hear the TV."

Arya sat her bowl down and went to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw a redheaded woman…Ygritte.

"Hey, Ygritte," Arya greeted the older woman after she opened the door.

"Arya," Ygritte greeted in warm delight. She tightly hugged the dark-haired girl. "I wasn't expecting to see ya here; I thought your idiot brother was lying when he said he was busy."

"Jon's not an idiot," Arya said defensively.

Ygritte grinned, and then an arm around Arya's shoulder. "You're right, he just knows nothing."

"Are you coming by to see, Jon," Arya inquired. "Because he's not here."

"Well, just my luck," she stated, without irony. "That makes it easier to get my stuff."

Arya noticed the box that sat outside the door as Ygritte walked over to pick it up.

"How long will he be gone?" Ygritte quickly walked to Jon's bedroom and threw her left over items in a box.

"All day," she answered. "He's helping Sam and his girlfriend…"

"Gilly," Ygritte provided.

"Yeah, Gilly. Well, he's helping them move," she explained.

"Good." Ygritte continued packing. "That means I won't run into him."

Silently, Arya watched Ygritte pack. The redhead packed efficiently as she expertly moved around the room to make sure she collected all of her things.

Sure, Arya had seen Ygritte on video messaging, but this was the first time she'd ever seen the woman in person. She was even more vibrant and stunning in person—she had a presence about her. The woman didn't come off as bitter, but determined and, despite calling Jon an idiot, Arya didn't think it was to be malicious. As Ygritte packed her things, she was silent herself and didn't destroy or mishandle any of Jon's stuff. From what Jon told her about Ygritte that was unusual. Well, he didn't say that she liked to destroy things, but rather, things tended to be destroyed if she was upset.

"Why did you break up with Jon," Arya asked suddenly.

As Ygritte was about to speak, she abruptly stopped as she picked up a sweater, and then smelled it.

Silently, Ygritte folded it. "That's a story for another time," she remarked, and then placed it back in the drawer.

Arya intently looked at Ygritte; the redhead exuded vulnerability. Admittedly, Arya didn't know that much about Ygritte, but based off of video chat, the woman seemed madly in love with Jon—she still was. But, it was clearly a sore subject based off of Ygritte's body language: tensed shoulders, gnawed on lip, and avoidant gaze. Breaking up with Jon deeply bothered Ygritte and she wasn't an emotional space to talk about it freely.

"I'm leaving in a few weeks," Ygritte remarked.

Arya furrowed her brows. "Huh?"

"In the army, you go a lot of places, but you don't really get to enjoy it," she explained. "I'm at a bit of a crossroads and haven't decided if I want to extent my career with the army or get out." She sat on the bed and absentmindedly rubbed the comforter. "I never gave a shit about traveling," she admitted. "Home was enough, but…the place I lie my head at at night became unbearable and I just had to escape. Some people join the army due to patriotism, others to pay for college, but I joined to escape—something Jon and I had in common; one of the very few things we had in common. And the army…it exposed me to so many different regions and cultures, but I never got to enjoy it. So…I don't know, I figure while I find out my next move, why not travel? Why not explore all of the places I never got to, and then some?"

"That sounds fucking awesome," Arya said. She leaned against the doorframe as she looked at the other woman. "I've always wanted to go to Braavos or some shit and travel new places...just disappear into a crowd, instead of someone recognizing me due to my dad." She gave a small laugh. "Just for a little but, I don't want to have a name or a face….that sounds weird, right?"

"No, no," Ygritte remarked. "I get it. I can't explain it, but I get it." In a companionable silence, the two stared at each other. Ygritte then advised, "Do it while you're young. And if you don't want it to interrupt your schooling, you can apply for some study abroad program, so you'll be learning and travelling."

Arya turned the idea over in her head. That sounded like a great idea.

"Where are you going to first?"

"Westeros," she answered. "I might as well, there's a lot of shit I haven't seen because it's so fucking huge and diverse. I'll check out a few major cities and landmarks, and then go to Essos for a while. If I have enough funds after I go there, I'm going to Sothoryos."

In shock, Arya's jaw dropped. "You're going to Sothoryos?"

"I might," Ygritte stressed. "We'll see what happens."

Not that many people traveled that far south, so not much was known about Sothoryos or other parts of their world. As developed as Westeros and Ethos was, they didn't care to explore the world, which baffled Arya. She loved Winterfell and it'd always be her home, but she also liked visiting other places and seeing how their cultures differed.

""I'm so fucking jealous right now," Arya grumbled.

Ygritte laughed. "Like I said, look into your school's study abroad program." She checked her watch. "It was nice talking you and actually meeting you face to face."

"Yeah, same." Arya watched as Ygritte stood up, and then grabbed her box before she looked around one last time. Arya followed her to the front door, and then locked it before her.

After she sat down, she flipped open her laptop and searched the study abroad program for The University of Winterfell at the Wall.

~*~*~*~

Catelyn smiled at her daughter and said, "Thank you."

Carefully, she rested two wineglasses on the counter, and then filled each one.

Curiously, Arya stared at her mother as she took her glass. "For what?"

"Tonight," her mom answered. "I know you hate dinner parties and the conversation that comes with it, but you really took it in stride tonight."

"What? All I did was smile and ha ha'd at the right moment," she quipped.

Catelyn playfully rolled her eyes as mother and daughter both sipped their wine.

"If that's the best I can get, I'll take it," she said. "All of my associates and friends gushed about how intelligent, witty, and charming you were. They all wanted to have lunch with you so that they could speak to you again and, oh, said they might have some job and opportunities that might interest you—it seems to me like you did more than smile and ha ha'd."

Arya chuckled. "You're right, I also complimented the hostess and the chief."

Catelyn pursued her lips and dismissively waved a hand. "Where did you learn to charm and woo?"

"You attract more bees with honey…" She shrugged.

"And just what are you trying to attract?" Catelyn's tone wasn't accusatory, but rather, curious.

"Honestly, nothing," she admitted. "Just figured that a poor attitude guarantees a poor night."

Her mom was going to respond to the comment, but left it alone. "So, you enjoyed yourself?"

"Gods no," she declared. Arya then reconsidered her statement, "A few times, but my feelings about these shindigs you insist are fun, hasn't really changed."

Her dad walked into the kitchen and looked at his wife and daughter.

"There are two of the three of my favorite ladies," he proclaimed. He and Catelyn exchanged a firm kiss before he placed one on Arya's forehead. "Little wolf, you look absolutely beautiful."

"Thanks, dad." Arya drank her wine to hide her blush.

"And you," Ned began as he stepped behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her. "Are downright stunning. If the Gods one day struck me blind, your beauty I'd still see."

Catelyn widely grinned at her husband's compliment and pulled him in for another quick kiss.

"I'm glad other people don't get to see this side of you," she stated. "Because I get to keep it all to myself."

"There's no other way I would have it, my love." Ned grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth.

"Blegh." Arya covered her mouth. "I guess this is my cue."

Her parents rolled their eyes at her.

"Hold on, Arya," Ned said. "Earlier you said you wanted to talk to your mom and I about something."

"Like what," Catelyn inquired. "Nothing was ever mentioned to me."

At the reminder, Arya walked back to the table and refilled her glass of wine. "So, before you say anything, hear me out first."

Her parents looked at each other. "Okay," they both reluctantly agreed.

Arya slid onto her stool and collected her thoughts. "I want to postpone college to travel. I know you're thinking I haven't thought this out, but I have—a lot. I'm not quitting school altogether; I just can't go back right away. Hell, I don't even know what I want to major in." Nervously, Arya looked at her parents as she spoke, "I don't know how long it'll be, but it's something I want to do—something I need to do. I know was just away at Wholistic Core for two years and you guys want me close to home, but I rarely ask for anything. And it's not as asking if Mycah's dad could get a better job and that you wouldn't snatch me away from my friends my senior year in high school are huge favors. And that was after you two forced me to go there to calm political waters rather than defend and protect me."

Visibly, her parents flinched.

"Look, I know how I sound right now," Arya, sighed. "And I don't hold these things against you two anymore, but I need the both of you to understand why I need to do this and not stand in the way. For once in your lives, I need you to be supportive of me NOT just when I'm reacting to shit that was out of my control, but even when I'm actively making decisions about MY life. I know the both of you love me, but you don't understand me…you try, which I appreciate, but I need you to support me on this." Tears glistened Arya's eyes as she finished her proposal."

Arya saw her mom's mind racing as she digesting her daughter's words. Her dad was a bit loss for words, but Arya saw him thinking as well. They were both silent for a while as they gathered their thoughts. It was unusual to see. Usually, either her mom or dad already knew what they were going to say and allowed the other to lead before giving their thoughts. But, it was clear that both wanted to give Arya's request some careful thought, especially because her request threw them for a loop.

Catelyn was the one to speak first, "Okay."

"Okay?" Ned looked at his wife questioningly.

"Yes. Okay," she repeated. "I have a feeling that Arya's request is more of a courtesy than actually asking her. Am I right, sweetheart?" Catelyn's voice was mostly neutral, but it had a hint of warmth to it.

"Yes," Arya admitted.

Catelyn nodded. "And if we say no and don't support you, which I presume is both emotional and financial, you'll find other means, correct?

"Correct." Arya nodded as she stared at her mom.

"Then there was only one choice for me to make," Catelyn replied. "Don't take this to mean that I don't support you, Arya, because I do and I love you immensely, but I can't have you on the other part of the world upset with me. I can't sit home and not know where you are or if you're safe. I won't. And I refuse to be ignorant about whether or not you have enough money for food and shelter. So, whether or not I like it and understand, I'm supporting you."

Ned slid his hand across the table and grabbed Catelyn wineglass. He finished the remainder of the wine, and then refilled the glass and finished that as well.

"I can't say that I like it," he admitted, referring to Arya's plans. "But, I agree with you mom. And I know we've talked about the situation with Robert and his family, but it doesn't change the fact that we didn't hear your side and forced you to do many things you didn't like. So, you're right: you should be allowed to actively make decisions that impact your life with support from us, which you have." Ned pinched the ridge of his nose. "A thousand sorries will never erase the regret I feel about what happened back then, but I do hope that you traveling gives you the freedom that was robbed from you these past few years."

Arya jumped out of her stool and eagerly hugged her parents.

"Thank you," she whispered as tears pooled from her eyes. "Thank you."

~*~*~*~

Arya waved her hand in the air.

"Hey, Arya," Ygritte exclaimed once she spotted her lunchtime companion.

"Hey," the Stark girl replied. "How you've been?"

Ygritte shrugged. "Pretty good—I can't complain. How about you?"

"Figuring my shit out."

At this, Ygritte smiled as she sipped her coffee. "When you get done with yours, can you help me with mine," Ygritte joked.

"Sure, the first session is on the house, but I don't offer family or friend of family discounts."

Ygritte laughed out loud.

The two women order their food and conversed about various topics.

"So, why did you want to have lunch with me," Ygritte asked as she chewed her food.

Arya smiled as she thoughts about how appalled her mother would be at the sight. Catelyn was firm on etiquette and instilled in all of her kids at a very young age. She'd even make them practice until they got it if she felt it was necessary. Robb, Sansa, and Bran learned right away and had the perfect table manner. Arya and Rickon, on the other hand, were a different story.

Catelyn would make them practice after school, before different, and/or after dinner. Sometimes it was once a day, and other times, it was multiple times.

One run through wasn't enough; she'd make them do it over and over until she saw slight improvement—until it became automatic. Although it took Arya a bit longer than her other siblings, it wasn't as long as Rickon, but he eventually got it as well.

Now, as she looked at Ygritte, it reminded her how silly the etiquette rules were. She supposed she could understand it if it were formal setting, but in a café or having dinner with family and friends? Nonsense!

"To thank you," she admitted. "Because of our discussion I've postponed college to travel instead."

"Really?" Ygritte excitedly smiled. "I'm glad I inspired you. Where're you going?"

Arya shrugged. "Well, I figured I'd just travel the continents like you…. Explore cities as I work my way south. I've made a rough draft of the cities I plan to visit and when."

"That's a good idea," Ygritte complimented. "Aimlessly traveling only works if you're in a city or a small region, even then, there are various hazards. Overall, it can be very dangerous." Arya nodded as she recalled her parents expressing similar sentiments. Her plan was never to aimlessly travel, but she did understand why they voiced their concerns. "So hos is it set up so far? What places do you have in mind?"

At Ygritte's question, Arya pulled a satchel from underneath the table and grabbed a notebook as well as a travel book from her bag. She opened the notebook and showed Ygritte a sketch of the continents Westeros, Essos, and Sothoryos as arrows and quick notes indicated which routes she believed was best.

Due to how the countries were set up, Arya didn't want to visit each country one at a time after leaving The North, but rather, traveling southeast. Her plan was to cut through Riverlands to get the The Eyrie, and then go back into Riverlands to get to the Crownlands before swopping back up in a The Reach, and travel The Reach-Dorne border to Storm's End, and then take off for Essos for the second leg of her travel.

Offhandedly, Arya explained her logic for going through the Riverlands twice and why she preferred that route to others. She said visiting the countries one at a time, planning wise, was a nightmare and actually wasted more time than saved, especially since she was driving. There wasn't any sense of traveling through one country just to get to another, and then go back to visit them in some arbitrary order.

Carefully, Ygritte studied the notes and sketches as she randomly asked Arya about certain points in her trip, her lodging plans, as well as what form of tourism she was going to do—self explore or paid tour guides. Her food was virtually untouched due to how engrossed she was with the notes. Deep in thought, Ygritte quickly flipped through the pages, and then looked at Arya.

"We should travel together," she suggested.

Arya stopped chewing her food. "What?"

"Yeah," she continued. "Look, as you mentioned yourself, the first leg of the trip is a nightmare when it comes to navigating and your idea is way smoother than mine. I'm still going to cover my own expenses, but we we could take turn driving, which means we won't have to stop as much and get to our destinations quicker; sure, we're both responsible, kick ass women, but there's nothing wrong with the buddy system; also, you'll get someone to talk to rather being alone," she explained. "There are a shit ton of reasons why this could work. I know we don't know each other that well, but just think it over and get back to me. I'd really love to travel with you."

Ygritte then flipped to a blank page in Arya's notebook and explained her own traveling plans as she wrote some of her plans down to give Arya a better picture.

Intently, Arya stared at Ygritte notes and inwardly compared them to her own.

It did sound like a good idea.

~*~*~*~*~

It didn't take much for Arya to convince her parents that travelling with Ygritte was a great idea. They were all for it, especially because it meant that Arya wouldn't be travelling alone.

They invited Ygritte over for dinner a week before the two ladies were supposed to leave.

As dinner was prepared, they sat in the living room and conversed.

"Arya said that you know each other through Jon," Catelyn inquired.

"Yes," Ygritte replied. "Jon and I hung out from time to time and he'd skype Arya when I was around, so we chatted a few times. She actually reminded my of myself, to be honest, so I came to kind of think of her as a long lost sister."

Catelyn narrowed her gaze, Arya coughed, and Ned looked to the ground.

Wrong thing to say.

Ned cleared his throat. "I can see that Arya made quite an impression on you."

"Most definitely," Ygritte recovered. "She's a really remarkable young woman, it's hard not to be impressed. She's definitely more mature than I was at my age, but the army really did straighten me out."

As Ygritte spoke, the doorbell rang.

Confused, Catelyn stood up.

"I wonder who that could be," she wondered aloud as she looked at her husband.

After Catelyn exited the room, Ned asked Ygritte questions about what Jon was like from the perspective of a person who served along Jon. Ygritte gave glowing answers and cracked a few jokes about how morally upstanding and righteous Jon was and is. Ned smiled proudly and explained that he taught Jon the importance of honorable character, but the rest of that he picked up on his own.

Ygritte politely asked where the bathroom was and Arya got up to show her.

"Who was it," her husband inquired when Catelyn came back.

Ned's question was answered when Jon and a woman appeared.

"Jon," Ned said in shock as he got up to greet his son. Lovingly, they embraced and patted each other on the back a few times.

"And how is this lovely young lady," Ned asked as he smiled at the woman.

She extended a hand and said, "Val."

"Nice to meet you, Val," he said in a deep, gracious voice.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Stark." Val's handshake was firm and confident.

"Just call me Ned."

As Arya and Ygritte both entered the room, they stopped.

"Jon," they said at the same time.

"What are you doing here," Arya questioned.

Jon plastered a fake smile on his face as he answered, "I was just thinking the same thing about Ygritte. I wasn't expecting to see her."

"Well, mom and dad wanted to have dinner with her before we left," Arya explained.

"Which is quite understandable," Ygritte added. "We'll be spending a lot of time together for a year or so, what parent wouldn't want to meet their child's traveling buddy?"

"Yeah," Jon bit out. 'What parent wouldn't?"

Dinner was served shortly afterwards. The dinner was originally planned for seven, but was extended to eleven. There was more than enough food made for the extra guest and Catelyn accommodated everyone at her spacious dinner table. Rickon and Bran weren't required to join them in the living room, so Bran exited his room and Rickon came from the game room during dinnertime. Sansa arrived home just in time for dinner from the mall and, as previously mentioned, Jon and Val were unplanned guest. Robb and his girlfriend Jeyne also stopped by unannounced and, of course, Catelyn was going to accommodate him.

As they ate, Sansa eagerly talked about her internship as Arya disinterestedly stared at her food. In interested, Ygritte asked Sansa about specific aspects of her internship, which Sansa eagerly explained while Ygritte, listened. If Ygritte was any other girl, Arya might had been jealous of the attention her new friend was paying to Sansa, but she wasn't. Although Arya had a poor relationship, basically nonexistent, with her sister, that didn't mean that other people couldn't like her.

Besides, Sansa and Ygritte were too different for that to even happen. Not only was Ygritte incredibly personable, she was also interested in hearing about the things people were passionate about.

Arya was surprised that Ygritte turned her table manners on when she ate with the Stark family; she didn't even know that Ygritte had table manners. She didn't mean it in a rude, offensive way, but simply as an observation. It was only a plus that Ygritte ate properly in from on her mother—Arya didn't need to see her judgmental eyes all because Ygritte used the wrong fork or slouched.

Jon awkwardly introduced Val as his girlfriend as he tried not to pay attention to his ex girlfriend on the other side of the table. He stuttered a bit when Ned asked how they met and how long they've been together. Val held her composure as she spoke a bit about herself before handing the conversation back over to Jon.

Arya supposed it was Jon's fault he was dealing with this awkward situation. Beside herself, the man in question, his ex girlfriend as well as his current girlfriend, no one else knew that Ygritte and Jon had previously dated. Well, honestly speaking, just the family, other than her, didn't know that they had dated. It was well known at work that Ygritte and Jon had been a thing, but it wasn't something his family had been privy too.

Arya and Ygritte decided that she was better off being introduced to her parents as a friend of Jon's rather than an ex.

Jon distractedly spoke about his job as he tried to ignore Ygritte's stare before he asked Robb about he and Jeyne.

Robb announced his engagement to Jeyne as the family happily congratulated them and Jon tried to become as one with his chair. Arya could see that dinner was extremely uncomfortable for him and felt bad for her favorite brother. Robb and Jeyne happily smiled as they accept congratulations and explained that a date hadn't been set yet.

Robb smiled and looked at his brother. "I always thought Jon was going to get married first," he began. "Even as a kid, he was so serious." There was laughter around the table. "I just knew he was going to marry the first girl he dated—guess I was wrong."

Jon gave a tightlipped smile and looked at his lap, which Robb interpreted the wrong way.

"Are you jealous because I'm engaged first," he said, not maliciously.

"No," Jon answered.

"He's probably embarrassed because you just insulted his girlfriend right in front of him," Sansa said in shock.

Robb frowned. "How? I didn't insult Val?"

Sansa looked at Robb as if he were crazy. "If I recall correctly, 'you just said you knew he was going to marry the first girl he dated, but you were wrong.'"

"Oh," Robb laughed, as he looked at Sansa than Val. "She's not his first girlfriend."

So, Robb knew Jon had been involved, but not who.

Val agreed, "I'm not Jon's first girlfriend. So no harm, no foul."

No harm no foul against Val, but Arya knew it stung a bit for Ygritte, despite the fact she was the one who broke up with Jon.

"Oh…" Sansa looked embarrassed.

"Why didn't we ever meet this other girl," Ned questioned as he stared at Jon.

Jon opened his mouth, but words eluded him.

Helping his brother, Robb explained, "Jon was serious about her, but he never saw a future for them—they were too different. Ironically, she broke up with him and never told him why."

"Ygritte did you meet her," Robb said.

"Robb," his mother chastised.

"What?" He shrugged. "He only mentioned her once by accident; I'm just curious is all. Do you mind?"

"No, not at all," Ygritte answered. "I did meet her and, I have to agree with Jon, they weren't compatible, especially if he was wasting her time the entire time."

"Hey, that's not fair. Besides, she broke up with him," Robb statement.

"But, isn't it," Ygritte retorted. "How would you feel your if one your sisters was in a serious relationship with a guy who saw no future with her?" Ygritte's façade of personal detachment was slipping. "You'd feel like he wasted their time, especially if he's known for a while he had no intentions of ever marrying her."

"He cared about her, but he was just conflicted," Robb argued.

Ygritte narrowed her gaze. "He cared about her, but he wasn't honest about the fact that he didn't see a future with her—how much did he really care?" Her statement shut Robb up for a moment. "You're only defending him because he's your brother. But, if a guy did that to Arya or Sansa, you'd want blood," she pointed out.

"And aren't you supposed to be defending your friend?" Robb directed a pointed looked at Ygritte.

"Just because he's my friend, doesn't mean I can't point out when he's being an idiot," she explained. "If Jon was so serious about this girl, why did you only find out about her by accident and no one else in the family knows about her? Why is Val the first girl he brought home, yet; he supposedly cared about this other woman. How serious could he have really been—I mean, do we blame her for breaking up with him?"

"Maybe she wasn't serious about him either," Robb speculated. "Maybe she expressed reservations about meeting his family and marriage."

"Ygritte…" Jon regained his voice as he tried to steer the conversation back on the right course. "Just—"

Ygritte cut him off. "She was serious about him and interested in meeting him family as well as marriage."

"You don't know that," Robb contradicted.

"This conversation started because you asked if I knew her." Ygritte laughed at the ridiculousness of Robb's stance.

"Robb, just leave it alone," Jon reasoned with his brother. "What's done is done."

"Jon, I know I may be biased because you're my brother, but you're one of the most stand up guys I know and, friend or not, I'm not going to let someone accuse you of stringing anyone along, especially if she broke up with you. I don't need to know the specifics to know that you aren't that kind of guy."

"Okay, wow…" Ygritte sipped her wine as she bit back a response.

"The way you defend this girl, one would think it was you he was involved with," Robb said as a way to imply she was being too defensive.

Jon's jaw dropped as Arya stared wide eyed at Robb, and then Ygritte and Val sat composed as she looked at the table.

"Ygritte…"

A Cheshire grin appeared across Ygritte's face. "That's because I am."

Catelyn's fork dropped as Bran choked on his food. He recovered quickly as the family stared between Robb, Ygritte, Jon, and Val.

"Jon knew that I loved him—that I was in love with him and wanted to get married," she stated. "Hell, everyone MINUS his family knew, well, Arya knew we were together, but Jon knew that he didn't want to marry me and allowed me to believe that we were on the same page. If that's not stringing someone along, then I don't know what is."

"Ygritte," Ned said, as he tried to intervene. Ned and Catelyn allowed Robb and Ygritte to continue their conversation for so long partially out of curiosity as well as the fact that their tone had been civil for the most part, until the end.

"Mr. and Mrs. Stark, thank you for the lovely dinner, but I'm afraid I have to get going," Ygritte excused herself.

Arya stood up to go after Ygritte. Just Arya began to walk Ygritte reappeared in the room.

"Jon, you broke my heart long before I ever broke yours; you were the last person I expected that from." Her eyes watered as she stared at him. "You really do know nothing, Jon Snow."

Ygritte wiped her fallen tears and left the room.

~*~*~*~

Despite the dinner fiasco, Arya and Ygritte's travel plan remained in tact. Arya's parents both had a talk with the young women as well as Jon—well, Ned had a talk with Jon. They agreed that, although the discussion got heated, it was handled maturely and didn't spiral out of control.

They were also still sold on Arya traveling with someone, especially a soldier who had many contacts in various continents. Jon did as well, but Ygritte was traveling with Arya not Jon.

Arya loaded her bags into the SUV that was bought specifically for the truck and kissed her parents goodbye.

"Have fun, little wolf," Ned whispered in her ear as he gave her a big hug.

"I'm going to miss you too, dad," Arya said into his chest.

Catelyn then pulled her youngest daughter into a hug as she repeatedly kissed her head and made Arya promise a million times to be safe.

After had to pull herself free of her parents as Ygritte said her goodbyes and Ned and Catelyn walked the two young women to the car.

Thirty minutes into the drive, as Arya's hair whipped in the wind, she never felt as free in her life as she did that moment.

Yes…this was the right choice.


	8. Maps Part II

It was interesting to explore the North through the eyes of a tourist. Although Arya was a resident of the North, it was a vast territory and she hadn't had much chance to explore it due to being young. Of course, she visited places with her family, but she never got the opportunity to explore her homeland on her own.

At the same time, Ygritte offered insight about an outsider's perspective of the North, especially when compared to where she came from and other places she'd visited while on active duty in the army. There were many customs and beliefs that Arya had to explain to her travelling companion just as she believed that there would be many things Ygritte would explain to her in the future.

The North was far too big to explore if they'd plan to explore the rest of Westeros as well as Essos, so they settled on visiting a handful of cities that captured the essence of the North.

As they walked through the city of Hornwood, Ygritte noted that it was slightly 'warmer' in the North than it was north of the wall. Intrigued, she took in the unfamiliar territory as she involuntarily voiced her observations aloud. With a slight tinge of bitterness, she noted that there was better infrastructure, stable government, and a well-oiled economy. She grumbled about her homeland being fucked over all while the North's ancestors reaped the benefits the Free Folk had been denied. Arya inquired as to what made Ygritte believe this, to which the red headed woman explained:

"You live in the North, you know how it went down," she vaguely reminded. "Or are you a know nothing like Jon," she quipped as she smiled at the younger woman. Knowing that Ygritte wasn't being malicious, Arya waited for her to continue. "History is written by the victors and the causalities of war are forgotten about." Arya gave Ygritte's statement some thought. "You Northern folk erected this ginormous wall to protect yourselves, and then treated the folks who remained on the other side as hostile outsiders. You say shit like 'winter is coming'," she mirthlessly chuckled. "Well, we experience fucking winter just about every goddamn day. You guys have something resembling seasons—it's just fucking cold further north.

"Sure, we have our communities and shit, but that fucked up shit you guys did with the Wall has fucked us for thousands of years. We may not care about that class shit that you southern folk love adhering to, but that doesn't mean that we're not pissed off that we were made to live in an environment that is barely suitable for human habitation.

"Our government is in shambles because it's every man for himself with all other territories in Westeros refusing to prove any type of support or assistance. We barely have any resources to support ourselves and, even if we did, we have no one willing to trade with us for things that would improve our lives. Our homes, our roads, our buildings, and shit are poorly made due to having a shitty government. And, you think the North has a shit agriculture," she gave a harsh cackle. "The weather down here may be harsh on the crops, but at least the weather gets warm enough to grow something…sometimes. And, you all have specialized greenhouses, communities built near fucking hot springs, food provided to you from the Neck, as well as being able to trade goods with the south." Ygritte looked at Arya. "Again, tell me how the North didn't fuck us over."

Arya recalled her history lessons from school. From what she remembered, humanity originated in one place before people migrated to other areas for reasons both known and unknown. When it came to territories and the cultures that came with them, it all made sense until it got to the Wildlings and the North.

Although Arya has always had questions about the Wildlings and why the Wall was built, her teachers treated her question as if it were blasphemous. They'd claim, 'Wildings are savages and barbarians', but Arya countered that they weren't all that different from Northern folk and both came from the First Men. She'd never met a Wildling a day in her life, but based off of her assigned readings and research for projects, they two were still very much similar. It wasn't until she got to Wholistic Core that her questions were answered.

It was explained that the Wall was built to protect itself from a vastly different tribe that was a threat to the Northerns. Unfortunately, the Wall separated the ones who'd camped further north from the ones who camped south of the wall. Those south of the Wall now lived in a territory referred to as the North. Over time, after the Andals conquered the southern part of Westeros and, despite keeping a vast majority of their beliefs as well as way of life, the Northerns were influenced by the Andals, which warped their view of those living above the Wall. So much so, that they forgot why the Wall was built and the narrative changed from there being an outside threat to their former tribe members being seen as hostile enemies.

Since it took the Free Folk longer to become a 'civilized' nation than those south of the Wall due to the harsh environment, they were seen as barbaric and hostile.

What Arya didn't realize what how much of an impact the Wall had on both groups. She knew that Wildlings had difficulties, but she didn't understand the extent of them. It was one thing to read about them and a completely different thing to hear about them from the mouth of one of their citizens, especially because it's the North's fault why they were in the predicament they were in. To make matters worse, no one wanted to help them. There wasn't any reason why the North should hate Wildlings, but the Wildings had every reason to hate the North.

"Don't get me wrong," Ygritte began again after a moment of silence. "There are a few good things about living Beyond the Wall, but only a few. We don't feed into that hierarchy and gender role bullshit for one. We're self-reliant and don't rely on bullshit status to get us what we want. And, despite our disorderly government, when push comes to shove we have each other's back."

"What made you join the army," Arya randomly asked. "I mean, I know you said you wanted to escape, but why the army?"

Ygritte chuckled.

"Remember when I said that Beyond the Wall had very few good things," she reminded. "Well, job opportunities aren't one of them…my mum and I don't have the greatest of relationships and I never got along with my stepdad. And it's not like I could run to my real dad—I don't know the bastard. But, when it came to my stepdad, she always fucking took that cocksucker's side over mine. Always; even when she knew wrong." There was a trace of hurt apparent in Ygritte's face that Arya couldn't detect in her voice. "Eventually, enough is enough and left home. Crashed at some friend's places for a while, but I was tired of it—of everything and had to get out.

"I was at the Market one day and saw a recruiting officer," she explained. "For years, I'd either scoffed or ignored them because the South had some nerve trying to recruit Beyond the Wall after what they did to us. But, I was desperate and that was definitely getting the fuck away like I wanted."

Arya was confused. "The North recruits Wildlings?"

Ygritte snapped her head and looked at Arya. Passionately, she corrected her travelling companion, "Free Folk. We're not Wildlings, savages, barbaric, or that other shit you Southerns use to look down on us. We both came from the First Men, but the South fucked us over and pretends as if we're savages when Free Folk share far more similarities with the North than the North does with the territories below them."

Shamefully, Arya blushed at Ygritte's tirade. Of course she wouldn't want to be labeled as a Wildling—no one Beyond the Wall would. Mentally, she chastised herself at the mistake, especially when she overlooked that Jon never called Ygritte a Wildling. Once or twice he referred to her people as Free Folk, but never as Wildlings. Due to the normalcy of referring to the Free Folk as Wildlings in the North, Arya never stopped to think that maybe that didn't like to be called that. That title alone refers to its derogatory meaning of how the North and the rest of Westeros viewed them, especially when they never had anything good to say about them.

"I'm sorry, I should've known better," she apologized.

"Just…just don't use that word again," she replied. "Even when I'm not around."

Arya nodded.

"And, yes, the North recruits Free Folk," she answered. "We're technically apart of the South even though they don't acknowledge or support us. It's irrelevant that we don't adhere to Westeros practices and customs since we never legally declared ourselves independent of the South, despite the Wall being built. We're simply viewed as a territory of the North that acts autonomously, but is still ruled by the North. Because of this, our government isn't acknowledged. Perhaps, it if w were better structured, we would've gained independence long ago, but we already know why Beyond the Wall can't.

"And this is why the South can recruit Free Folk." Ygritte shrugged as she sipped her coffee.

The Free Folk confused Arya; she understood that their living situation, but they were proud people and what the North did was fucked up. If she were apart of the Free Folk, she'd die before she enlisted in the North's army. It didn't make any sense.

As if reading Arya's mind, Ygritte said, "It does. You southern folk have phrases like 'the North Remembers', but really the Free Folk remember. Not everyone—hell, not even most Free Folk—will enlist in your army because of the shit the South did to us and continues to do. Like I said, we both came from the First Men and we're way more similar than dissimilar, which is why a handful of Free Folk, like myself, volunteer. Yes, there are a lot of self serving reasons and, no, I'd never fight for any army below the Neck, but the North—they're my kinfolk and there's no use in us constantly fighting. As misguided as people think it is, I'd give my life for them." Ygritte stole a look at Arya. "Besides, if the North wasn't able to handle temperatures slightly above chilling, I wouldn't want to fight with them—they'd be as useless as those southern cunts."

Arya laughed out loud.

The North's winters were legendary.

Arya found it humorous how Ygritte differentiated between when she called the North, the South and when she was truly referred to the southern part of Westeros. She emphasized the South a lot when she said it, which indicated that she was referring to the North. When she spoken about the southern part of Westeros, it was usually with disgust and annoyance.

In deep thought, Arya bit her doughnut. "So, the North isn't afraid of Free Folk turning against them—I mean, in the army?"

At this, Ygritte cackled loudly. Tears streamed down her eyes at the question. "Gods no," she answered after he laughter subsided. "The North may be hostile to us at times, but overall, they tolerate us. The Crownlands, Riverlands, The Reach, and shit—they'd NEVER take us. Probably kill us for even asking to join them based on principle alone. And forget about Essos or Sothoryos. If the Free Folk aren't in the army, the furthest they travel south is the North. We'd have no reason or incentive to want to rebel, especially because we know jack shit about most cultures," she explained. "And since the only ones who enlist feel a sense of loyalty to our Northern kinfolk, we'd never turn on you guys. The North relies on shit like that—as well as our shitty situation Beyond the Wall. You're appreciative of the food and stability that you don't think to turn on them." Ygritte stole a piece of Arya's doughnut. "Ironically, they have a no tolerance policy for discrimination against Free Folk—you can hate us all you want as a regular citizen, but once you join the army, either you bury that shit deep or get over it."

For the rest of their stay, Arya and Ygritte visited museums, historical locations, and ate the local food. It was slightly different from Winterfell, but good nonetheless. There were a few weird tasting items, but they didn't let those few items define the overall deliciousness of Hornwood crusine. They spent their last day wandering aimlessly around Hornwood and get a feel of the land in an unofficial capacity.

Most people take off bright and early, but Arya and Ygritte said 'Fuck that noise' and left six o'clock in the afternoon instead.

Since Ygritte drove them to Hornwood, it was Arya's turn to drive to Widow's Watch. The culture was also somewhat different than Hornwood and Winterfell due to its location by the sea, but they also had many similarities. They ate various seafood dishes and even observed the day in the life of a fisherman. If they were most people, the only exciting parts would've been catching huge fish and exciting tales, but not Arya and Ygritte. They were enthralled. Admittedly, there were some boring parts, but spending time with the seamen was definitely exciting. They cursed, bullshitted, and drank tons of ale before they went home and slept well until the afternoon.

They also enjoyed the folklore from city to city. Each city had their own version of the same story and the new details and twists were fascinating. The two women wondered how the other cities tales would different and which tale had the most staying power.

Arya wouldn't compared Winterfell food to Hornwood and Widow's Watch due to bias, but she believed that the other two towns were equally as good and that they both had unique flavors. Ygritte preferred Widow's Watch because it was different and she'd never had seafood before.

After spending two days each in White Harbor and the Neck, they briefly stopped through the Twins before they got back on the road to the Vale. Despite really not wanting to see them, Arya visited her aunt and cousin for a few hours. By the end of the visit, Arya just about pulled her hair out before she bolted out the door and to the car. Usually, the Stark kids got roped into spending time with their aunt Lysa and cousin Robin, but Arya wasn't going to put herself through voluntary torture or even be manipulated into it. The less you let Lysa get under your skin, the less you felt guilt about not humoring her. And, honestly, Arya was guilt free.

It was noticeably warmer in the Vale, but they also had harsh winters as well. Although the Vale was a fairly conservation place, Arya and Ygritte was captivated by its beauty and culture. Its historical buildings were in pristine shape and they oral history of the Vale was captivating while they emoted and included intimate details in their narrative. They were treated to similar experiences in Old Anchor as well as Gulltown, and then proceeded to the Crownlands.

While they travelled through the Riverlands, they stopped and visited both Harrenhal and Maidenpool.

In the various towns they visited, Arya had bought and mailed postcards to her family and friends. She also took pictures of her and well known or beautiful locations and sent them out as well. Occasionally, she recorded certain moments. But, most of the time, she enjoyed immersing herself in the new environments as well as chatting up the locals. The locals new they were tourists based off of their accents—more so Ygritte than Arya. Despite not being intimately familiar with the area, Arya was knowledgeable about the Riverlands due to her mother and her mother's side of the family.

She impressed Harrenhal and Maidenpool natives with her depth of knowledge regarding the area that went beyond a simple google search. She even knew some things that they didn't. Curious as to how she knew so much, Arya explained that her mother was from the Riverlands, specifically Riverrun. Once she told them that her mother was a Tully, the people noticeably lit up and gushed about the Tully family.

Arya was used to seeing that reaction when people found out that she was a Stark, but it's rarely happened with her when it pertained her mother's name. They were an important family in political circles, but to see how common folk behaved hearing the Tully name was an eye opening experience.

The natives invited Arya and Ygritte to a home cooked meal and offered them free boarding. Arya politely turned down their offer, but accepted their other offer of being shown around town.

Unlike the other towns they already passed through, the Riverlands food was in ways that the other towns weren't. The weather was perfect for cultivating crops; consequently, they ate an abundance of fruits and vegetables. They also had a mixture of fish and red meats, which she devoured all of it in no time.

They stayed longer than planned as they swam in warm rivers and hiked in dense, plush forests.

Reluctantly, they departed for the Crownlands, despite being further back on their schedule than planned.

Dramatically, Ygritte sighed as she looked at her phone.

Arya glanced at the name and raised an eyebrow as she chuckled. "That Bitch?"

"My mum," Ygritte said as way of explanation. "She's been calling me since we left White Harbor and I don't want to fucking talk to her. We—we haven't even spoken since I left Beyond the Wall and that was five fucking years ago. What does she have to say to me now that she couldn't say while I was living with her?"

Arya bit her lip and remained silent. She figured that Ygritte needed to vent.

There wasn't much she couldn't say about dysfunctional child/parent relationships. Although she'd been upset with her parents an occasion or two, her relationships with her parents was filled with love and fondness. They may have not always understood each other, but they tried.

Arya knew the same couldn't be said for Ygritte; despite her know that Ygritte loved her mom regardless.

"Does she usually blow up your phone," Arya asked.

Ygritte nodded. "No."

"Well then, just see what she wants and go from there," Arya advised.

For a moment, Ygritte considered her words. "Okay," she agreed. "But, after we get to King's Landing. If she says anything to piss me off, it's not a good idea for me to be caged in a car."

Arya laughed as she turned up the air.

Gods, it was unbelievable hot. She didn't se how southerners lived like this.

They arrived to King's Landing a few hours later. After the two women checked into their room, Ygritte left to go find somewhere else to speak to her mother. Arya didn't think it was a privacy issue, which wouldn't bother her if it were, but more so Ygritte needed literal space to speak with her mother.

Arya picked up her phone and dialed.

A familiar voice said, "Hey."

Arya's stomach jumped as a wide grin spread on her face. "Hey," she parroted. "I'm in King's Landing."

"Really?" When Arya mapped out her road trip, she calculated how long it'd take her to get to the capital. She and Gendry exchanged texts the entire time as she shared her trip with him. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming to town? I could've took off or some shit."

Arya rolled her eyes as she rested a knee against the edge of the bed, and then lowered her hand to hold her weight. She flopped onto the bed and unsuccessfully fought against a smile. "Fuck that noise," Arya declared. "The next words out of your mouth better be, 'Arya, I've already cleared my schedule for you.'"

"Yeah, if I gave up sleep alto—"

"Arya, I've already cleared my schedule for you," she interrupted. "Say it."

"Maybe if I traveled back to the fut—"

"Arya, I've already cleared my…"

"Schedule for you," he finished.

"Really," she said in faux surprised. "This is why we're besties—you always put me first."

Gendry chuckled into the phone.

Arya bit her lip and asked, "When can I see you?"

As Gendry and Arya spitballed a good time to meet up, Ygritte walked into the room with bloodshot eyes.

Softly, Arya mumbled into the phone, "I have to go." With concern, she stared at her friend. "What's wrong?"

"My mum," Ygritte croaked. "She's dying." Harshly, Ygritte wiped the tears away as she sniffled. "She's been trying to tell me for weeks and I ignored her."

"Oh my Gods," Arya whispered.

Ygritte leaned against the wall and slid down, and then cried into her knees.

Awkwardly, Arya stood in front of her before he crouched in front of Ygritte and placed a careful hand on her shoulder. After a while, Arya sat beside her as Ygritte bawled between her knees.

Thinking of how her mother used to comfort her, Arya wrapped an arm around Ygritte's back and gently rocked the older woman. It seemed to calm her somewhat, but the tears still came. Her body shook and anguish filled every tear as Ygritte processed the fresh news of her mother's impending death.

Some time later, Ygritte went from bawling to non-stop sniffling and leaned against Arya's arm as she clutched it.

"I should hate her," Ygritte admitted. "I should be glad that she's dying, but I'm not."

"Hate her later," Arya remarked.

"She was the only family I had," Ygritte murmured.

In the early hours of the morning, the two ladies silently laid on the floor as they stared at the ceiling. They shared some random bottle of liquor they grabbed from the mini fridge.

"I gotta see her," Ygritte declared. "I gotta leave tomorrow. I'm going to take a plane to an airport near the Wall, and then take a bus from there."

"Okay." Arya bit her lip. "Do you want me to call Jon?"

Ygritte wiped her face, and then sat up. "No. I—I just can't deal with him in my life right now and I don't know when I'll be able to."

"Okay."

"Please do not tell him," she requested. "I don't really care that Jon knows, but you know how he is…he's going to want to drop everything and be there for me and that complicates shit. My emotions are already fucked enough as it is to be dealing with a supportive ex boyfriend."

"Alright," Arya replied. Arya didn't like keeping secrets from Jon, but Ygritte's mother's death was an understandable exception. It wasn't her place to share that information, especially when explicitly told not to. She only asked if she could tell Jon so Ygritte could have someone be there for her when she left. But, if Ygritte didn't want him there, then Arya's lips were sealed.

"I guess the rest of the trip is cancelled?"

Ygritte sighed. "No…it's not. It's—it's not." For a moment, the red headed woman paced back and forth. "Just give me 2-3 weeks max, all right? This trip will now serve as a great distraction from my mum impending death."

Silently, Arya drove Ygritte to the airport.

They hugged for a while before Ygritte picked up her suitcase and entered the airport.

Arya met up with Gendry at the Red Keep.

As soon as Gendry saw her, he smiled, and then met her half way. Gently, he pulled her into his arms and they held each other for a while. Arya smiled into his chest, and then deeply inhaled him.

Tears prickled in her eyes.

Most people would ask, 'Do you want to talk about it?'

Gendry said, "Let's get something to eat."

In relief, Arya gave a small smile and followed him.

Gendry took her to his favorite burger joint. They order greasy burgers and fries and shared a large chocolate shake.

Although Arya told Gendry about her trip though text messages, they were the abbreviated versions. This time around, in detail, Arya spoke about each place she and Ygritte visited and just what made her favorite places in those locations stand out. Arya told him her how road trip had fared so far and what her favorite places were in each location. Enthralled, Gendry listened to her as she gave vivid descriptions of places he'd never been and all of the rich history that came with it. He smiled as her face lit up in enthusiasm and she smiled at his infectious grin.

Arya then spoke about how similar she and Ygritte were and that she was happy that they'd decided to travel together. Arya had countless stories about her time with Ygritte and the things they'd done or spoke about. She then asked Gendry about him.

Gendry told her about his work life and that he'd looked into some other jobs, but that he didn't think they'd pan out. He didn't have any exciting stories to tell her, so Arya told him to tell her his favorite moments.

"Well…a lot of my favorite moments include you," he admitted. "I…I don't have a lot of favorite moments. I do have a hazy one of my mum…there was this one night. My mum must've had a hard night at work and I think I saw it on her face. So I ran upstairs and pretended to be asleep so she'd just go straight to bed. I mean, I wanted to spend time with her, but I also wanted her to rest," he explained. "But then, she came into my room and sat on my bed for a while. I don't how long she was there, but she started gently shaking me." Gendry smiled in thought of that night. "When I looked at her, she said, 'why didn't my little bull stay up for me?' And I told her why. "She said that I was such a good and smart boy, that—that I always made her days better and that she looked forward to seeing me at the end of each night." Gendry's eyes glistened as he bit his lip. "And she looked, so sincere and, and truly happy to spend that time with me. She pulled out a bag of peanuts that she bought from work because she knew I loved them and we ate them together. After we finished, she laid down with me and just…kept telling me over and over how much she loved and how grateful she was to have me in her life.

"The next day, she was dead," he bitterly spat out. "Some guy stabbed her because she wouldn't give him her number. And people watched as she bled in the street."

Gendry wiped his eyes as he looked at the table.

Arya reached across the table and took his hand in hers.

"I'm sorry to hear that happened to your mom…to you," she said softly.

Gendry clenched his jaw, but didn't let go of her hand.

"I'm sad Ygritte's mother died, but not for the reasons you'd think," she admitted. "I know nothing about her, not even her name. But, death…it's always some abstract thing until it isn't. And then the reality hits you as to just how unpredictable and inevitable death is. And that's so fucking unfair. One day my mum's going to die, my dad's going to die, Jon, you—me," she opened up. "And there's not shit we can do about it, except live life, right?" Tears fells rolled down Arya's face. In a semi-distraught state, she wiped them away. "There's nothing we can do. What kind of bullshit is that? Everything we are, everything we achieve means jack shit in the end. What's the point—wha, what's the point in finding meaning in life if it all amounts to nothing?"

Gendry brought her hand to his mouth as he looked at her. "What other choice do we have," he countered. "We're wired to want to find meaning even if it means jack shit in the end. Life's a journey, right? And Death's its inevitable destination. I don't know if there's life after death or just nothingness, all I know I don't much and I want to enjoy what I do have before I'm gone. That's enough for me. You need to find what's enough for you."

Around five, they arrived at the place Gendry shared with his foster dad.

On their way there, Gendry held her close as he firmly grabbed her arm. A part of Arya wanted to exclaim, 'I can protect myself!' Although, Gendry knew that, he also knew Flea Bottom and she trusted his judgment over her pride. Not that she'd ever admit that aloud.

Gendry led Arya into a one-bedroom apartment.

Everything was small, from the kitchen, to the bathroom, to the bedroom, and the couch. Hell, her bedroom was bigger than this apartment—a fact that simultaneously shamed Arya and made her feel sorry for Gendry.

Gendry brought the both glasses of water and turned on the TV that broadcasted an unclear picture. Gendry banged on it a few times, and then tinkered with before the pictured cleared.

They watched on old TV shows as Gendry intently paid attention and laughed at some of the jokes. Once or twice, he changed the channel because he already saw that particular episode or he was tired of watching it over and over. Eventually, he settled on a new episode of a reality court show.

At first, Gendry tried to be a gracious host and said they could watch whatever Arya wanted, but she honestly did care and he knew better than to ask twice.

In amusement, smiled as Gendry excused himself to go to the bathroom. He'd down three large cups of water and she wasn't surprised that his bladder was making his pay for it. Sure, it was great to drink a lot of water, but still…it was a lot of water in a short time.

As Arya sat alone of the couch, it was now obvious just as to how much she missed him: his presence, his aura, and his Gendryness.

It was obvious when she left Wholistic Core and when she saw him again, but the vanquished ache in her heart and the loud pumping in her chest made it cleared just as how much she missed her best friend.

Intently, she stared at Gendry when he re-entered her line of his. He smiled at her as he walked over her legs and sat beside her. His eyes were still impossibly blue and she bet his lips were still just as soft.

"What?" He grinned at her.

Arya kissed him.

She wanted to kiss him senseless: partly because of how much she missed and the other part because she needed him not to think. Sometimes, he thought too much and she just wanted to enjoy the moment without his doubts and second-guessing.

And she could feel it. Gendry was losing the battle…his will to question. It was weakening.

Quickly, Arya slipped her tongue in his mouth, as she was half seated on his lap and the couch.

Gendry groaned into her mouth and tightly gripped her thigh. She felt his hips buck forward and his cock harden.

Reluctantly, Arya broke their kiss, "When will your foster dad be back?"

"Umm…" Gendry couldn't think for a moment. "Uhh…tomorrow. Sometimes he stays in his shop and tonight's one of those night."

Arya nodded.

"Good." Arya smiled. She then grabbed Gendry's shirt and lifted it over his head, and then kissed him again. Finally, his will broke as hungrily Gendry kissed her. He maneuvered Arya so that she straddled his lap as he thrust up against her. Arya tightly gripped his shoulder while she firmly rubbed against him as the friction increased between.

She gasped, he groaned; she sighed, he moaned.

This time, Gendry broke the kiss.

"I thought we were trying to be just friends," he questioned.

" We are," Arya replied, as she placed kisses on his face and neck. "But, we can be friends with benefits."

Gendry pondered her response as Arya sucked on his ear.

"I missed you being inside of me," she huffed in his ear. "Don't you miss being inside of me? Nice, tight…and warm." Gendry swallowed. "And when you'd get deep as fuck?" Arya slid a hand put them and reached into her panties and touched herself. "Remember when you'd hold my legs apart and pound into me." She'd shuddered and gasped. "Or how I ride you until you couldn't hold your cum? Remember—remember how breast feel against chest and how my juices taste?"

Arya pulled her hand from her panties and held them in front of Gendry.

Ever so slightly, his head nodded in agreement as he leaned forward towards her fingers.

Arya slowly moved her hand away from his mouth.

In annoyance and frustration, Gendry glared at her.

"Remember?" She lifted her fingers to his nose. "Remember how I taste?"

"Yeah," he croaked, and then eagerly took her fingers in his mouth. His warm tongue licked Arya's fingers cleaned as he moaned his pleasure. She slightly moved her hips and Gendry made a strangled noise. He was almost fully erect.

As Gendry stood up, Arya slid off of his lap, but he gripped her arm so that she wouldn't fall. He hurriedly threw cushions off for the couch, and then pulled out the bed that served as a couch spring when it was put away. It barely looked big enough to fit Arya, but Gendry slept on this every night?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Gendry kissed her as he slid a hand into her panties and between her legs.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," she gasped.

Firmly, Gendry rubbed her vagina as he lowered her onto the bed.

Arya felt the fabric against her skin as her stomach touched the bed, which Gendry then hurriedly flipped her over. He carefully slid off her panties, and then rested a leg on each shoulder.

Tenderly, he peppered kisses on her thighs as Arya wiggled. Gendry held her hips against the bed and continue. She hated when he teased like that. Sure, she kissed his stomach a few times, but Gendry liked to stretch out the tease rather than jumping in. Without warning, he shoved some fingers into her vagina and Arya bit her lip in surprise. He strokes were tender and knowing as Arya tightly shut her eyes and breathed deeply.

"Your pussy looks incredible," he said in awe. "Just looking at it makes me want to cum."

Arya glared at him. "You better not."

"I won't," he promised. "It's just…" His warm tongue licked her entire pussy with one brush. "It's been a while, but I'm not going to cum until I'm balls deep in you."

Arya's stomach knotted up in anticipation.

"You want that too, don't you," he asked. He sucked and rubbed on her clit as he touched himself. "You want me balls deep, don't you?"

"Yeah," she gasped.

"Good." He wrapped her legs around his neck. "Don't worry, I'm gonna feed your pretty pussy every inch of my cock."

"Mmm…" Arya moaned in anticipation.

"Gods," he moaned into her vagina. "You're so wet for me." Involuntarily, she lifted her hips forward as Gendry buried his face further between her legs. A whimper escaped Arya's lips. "So so wet," he mumbled. "Gods, you're pussy loves me…it's so fucking swollen and sensitive." Unexpectedly, Arya yelped when Gendry stuck his fingers back into her.

Once again, he licked his fingers as he stared at her engorged vagina.

Gendry placed feather kisses on Arya's stomach as he made his way up her body. As he did so, he slowly lifted her shirt to discard it. Arya propped her body up on an elbow and helped Gendry get her shirt over her head. He then expertly removed her bra, and then sucked on her breasts.

He slipped an expert hand between her legs as he continued sucking to which Arya gave out a chocked sigh.

This was nirvana.

Arya lightly rested a hand on Gendry's hand as he hand involuntarily grabbed and released it over and over. The other tightly held onto his back as her left leg wrapped itself around his way while the right lay against the bed.

Without her permission, her hips meet his hand thrust for thrust. Although part of pleasure was alleviated, for the other part, it wasn't enough. It was just a bullshit snack for a starved person; an appetizer instead of a feast and, most definitely, Arya was ready to feast.

The throbbing between her legs was unbearable. She needed to be filled, to feel friction—pressure. She yearned to be stretched. Gods, she ached and her vagina needed a cock to grip. Fuck fingers.

Oh, fuck, his fingers.

No, no, no…his fingers were nice, but she needed his cock. She needed his thick and deliciously long cock in her…sliding in and out and filling her. She needed every inch of him like he promised.

"Stop fucking around, Gendry," she spat in frustration. "Enough foreplay, I need you in me now."

As Gendry got up on his knees, he smirked, which earned him a glare. "Don't worry, I'm going to give your cunt something bigger to grab onto." Although he wasted no time undoing his pants, apparently, he wasn't fast enough; Arya shoved his hands away as she unzipped, and then pulled down his underwear and pants together. She glared at him again.

"Do I need to help you step out of them as well?"

Gendry narrowed his gaze at her as he stepped out of his clothes, and then placed himself between Arya's spread legs. "Be nice," he warned.

"Shut the fuck up," she whispered, and then kissed Gendry.

Gendry rubbed the head of his cock against her entrance and as about to enter her when he asked, "Do you got any condoms?"

"You don't?" Gendry bit in lip at their predicament.

"I haven't been with anyone other than you," he admitted. "I don't really have the time and I'm shit at picking up girls, so I never got them."

"I haven't been with anyone else," she admitted as well.

Gendry seemed to consider something. "I can go out and buy some."

Arya thought about their situation for a moment, and then smiled. She kissed him as she wrapped her legs around his hips. "Or I could get the morning after pill," she suggested. "We've only ever been with each other, so that rules out STD's and the pill will handle the birth control part."

Gendry smiled as they kissed, and then slid a tongue into her mouth.

His head rubbed against her vagina again, but firmer this time.

"Stop being a cocktease," She mumbled into his mouth.

A familiar pressure slid against her wall as Gendry entered her. Arya practically sobbed in relief and Gendry groaned into her ear. It was deep and masculine. She almost came on the spot.

She was wrong…this was nirvana.

Arya opened her legs wider as Gendry settled more comfortably between her legs. Gods, the friction and how he stretched her. It was almost too much too soon. It didn't hurt; Arya's body was incredibly relaxed from the foreplay, but it'd been a while. And he felt good and she felt…full.

His slickened cock easily slid in and out of Arya as she pulled him closer.

"Gendry—deeper, Gods, please go deeper," she sobbed.

Gendry put her legs on his shoulder and gave her measured strokes. He slowly fed Arya his cock from the head to the root.

It drove her wild.

"Gendry…Gendry," she gasped.

Deeply, she kissed him as her nails clawed at his back. Gendry hissed at the slight pain, but picked up his pace to which Arya responded favorably. She still wanted more and he was going to give her what she wanted. Fucking Christ, Arya's vagina held onto him as if it was a vice and he wanted to pound into her like a jackhammer. He knew she the increased intensity, but he wasn't going to take her there yet.

He pumped into her once, and then twice before he bottomed out.

Arya's eyes snapped out.

"You okay?" Gendry assessed her reaction for any distress.

"Yeah." She licked her lips, and then rubbed his hip. "Yeah."

Gendry continued bottoming out as Arya's back arched up off of the bed. Quickly, he pulled out of her, and then flipped her onto her stomach. Before Arya knew it, Gendry slid into her again after getting her on her knees. She held herself up on her elbow as Gendry slammed into her from behind.

Loudly, she sobbed in pleasure into the bed.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, Gendry!"

"You love it when I'm balls deep, don't you." Arya moaned in affirmative. "You love feeling my balls hit your ass, don't you?" Arya moaned again. "Say it," he demanded. "Say, 'I love when you're balls deep, Gendry.'"

As he spoke, Gendry pulled her further onto his cock as he arched her back for her.

A sharp gasp escaped from Arya.

"Say it." Fuck. He was playing mind games with her. He knew she got off of shit like this, but it was usually when she was in control. But, Gendry also knew that, every once and a while, Arya got off on being dominated. "Say it."

"I love it when you're balls deep, Gendry," she repeated.

"Good girl." He firmly slapped her ass as he watched his cock go in and out of her. Gendry then rubbed and squeezed it as he then looked at how her pussy gripped him. Gods, this was so fucking hot. Fucking Arya and hearing her moan and beg beneath him always made him harder and cum just as hard, especially when she pushed back.

Fucking hell, she was pushing back…and she was clenching too?

Gendry knew he was going to last long. He upped the intensity and firmly rubbed Arya's clit.

"Fucking hell, Gendry," she gasped.

Gendry leaned forward and had his body cover hers as he torso rested against her back, and then pounded into Arya. At that moment, Arya was experiencing a sensory overload as Gendry pounded her into the bed.

Suddenly, she climaxed.

Her orgasm was intense and unforgiving as Gendry continuing stroke to help her ride it out. He grinded his hips and slammed into her hard. Arya liked a little pain when she climaxed…just a little, which Gendry obliged her.

"Fuck, Gendry, fuck!"

"Yeah," he mumbled in her ear. "You know I always take care of you."

Arya turned her head and Gendry leaned in for a kiss: tender and languid.

"Mmm…" she happily sighed.

Slowly, Gendry pulled out of her and kissed her forehead. Arya tiredly chuckled, and then deeply inhaled. She forgot how affection Gendry was during sex, especially afterwards. He then lapped at her remain juices and wrestled two smaller, less intense orgasms out of her.

Arya got up and rest a couch pillow against the back of the couch and patted it. Gendry obliged her and relaxed as Arya straddled him, and then took his cook in her hand. Passionately, she kissed him as slowly jerked his cock. She knew what he liked—she doubted she'd ever forget it.

She stroked his length with one hand and put slight pressure on the head of his cock with the other. Every once and a while, she'd stroke his length and play with his balls. After a while minutes, she increased her pace and a few strokes later, semen was splattered on his stomach,

Deliriously, they smiled at each other.

They exchanged tender kisses before they fell asleep in one another arms.

In pleasure, Gendry moaned, and then opened his eyes and watched as Arya sucked his cock. He threaded his hands behind his hand and let her do her thing as he closed his eyes. Sometimes when he focused on nothing but the sensation, his pleasure increased. He felt Arya's warm tongue traced the length of his cock, her lips suck on the head, and her mouth encircle his cock.

Gendry cracked his eyes when he felt the weight on the bed move. Just as he did, Arya sank onto his cock.

"You did all of the work last time," she reminded. "It's my turn."

Gendry grabbed her hips as she rode him into oblivion.

The next day, Gendry's eyes fluttered open sleepily. He felt Arya's warm weight in his arms, and then stared down at her. She was snuggled face first in his chest in his arms.

"You finally up," she mumbled.

"Yeah," he answered. "How long you been up?"

Tiredly, Arya yawned. "I never really fell asleep," she admitted, and then sniffed. "Probably for like ten minutes on and off, but it's too noisy outside."

Gendry knew what she meant. He grew up falling asleep to the noisy streets of King's Landing, so he was used to it. But, for someone who was used to sleeping in complete silence, it was distracting, just like sleeping in complete silence was distracting for someone who grew up going to sleep to noise.

"Sorry about that," he unnecessarily apologized. Gendry washed up and got dressed before fixed Arya eggs and toast. He poured her a glass on orange juice as they discussed their plans for the next two days.

"How's Ygritte?" Gendry put the couch back together as Arya cleared their dishes off of the table.

Arya shrugged. She spoke to Ygritte, as Gendry got dressed. "As well as you'd expect."

Gendry nodded in understanding.

He quickly browsed the mail, and then opened one of the packages. Arya noticed Gendry smiled at its contents before he placed it in a shoebox.

"What was that?"

"Umm…the pictures you e-mailed me," he explained. "I got them developed."

He handed her the box and continued to straighten up.

Arya's stomach fluttered as she looked at the pictures. They dated all of the way back to Wholistic Core. Gendry must've asked if they could send him any copies they had. Pictures from the Core mainly consisted of her, Gendry, and Hot Pie. They were a handful that were only and Gendry. The rest of he photos were from her road trip.

"What's your favorite picture?" Intently, she looked at him.

Gendry shrugged, and then scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know…I have a lot of favorites," he replied. Arya walked in front of Gendry and handed him the box. Briefly, looked at the box, and then Arya. "I liked the fishing trip one," he explained. "The one where you accidentally dropped your fish back into the sea and the one in the Vale where you're overlooking all of Eyrie. And I love all of the ones in Harrenhal, especially the ones in the woods." Gendry's voice was so low, it was also as if he'd been whispering.

Arya had no clue why she'd been standing so close to him, but once she looked up at Gendry, he kissed her and she was glad to have invaded his space.

She liked this friend with benefits thing.

Slowly, they broke apart and smiled at each other.

"Let's get you back to your hotel so you can wash up and change."

Arya gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. "Okay."

Since Arya was already familiar with King's Landing, they settled on bowling and the movies. For her trip with Ygritte, they decided that for the first half of the trip, Ygritte would have official tour guides show her around and the second half would be Arya, the former citizen, showing her the rest. Their plan made it easy to make plans without Gendry all without abandoning Ygritte. Before Arya and Gendry went bowling, they grabbed brunch, and then wandered around the area for a bit.

They played three games of bowling, which Arya won each game and it wasn't even close. Gendry was an average player, but Arya was better. They then went to the movies and watched two of the showings. One was an action/adventure selection and the other was a psychological thriller. Gendry laughed as Arya dozed off in both movies.

By the end of the night, they ended up at Gendry's job where he worked as a bartender at a place called 'Brotherhood Without Banners' just outside of the capital.

As Arya and Gendry walked through the bar, they heard someone say, "I'd never thought I'd see the day Gendry brought a girl to BWB."

'It's a too late for that, I'm now his ex-girlfriend,' Arya thought.

"Yeah, Beric, as in girl who is my friend," he emphasized. "We're not dating. We're hanging out since Arya is passing through town."

"Oh really, what for," Beric asked.

"My friend and I are doing a road trip of Westeros and King's Landing was one of the stops," she explained.

Beric looked around. "Where is she?"

"Family emergency," Arya said as way of explanation. "When she gets back, our trip will continue."

Gendry held a hand up. "That's enough of nosing around in other peoples business," he warned. "Arya came here to get a drink and play pool NOT be interrogated by you."

Beric chuckled. "No harm, no foul, right," he looked at Gendry, but his question was directed toward Arya as he then looked at her.

"Right." Arya shrugged.

Gendry rolled his eyes and sighed. "Whatever." As he said each man's name, he pointed to them, "The nosy one is Beric and that's Thoros—they owns the place, that's Lem, Anguy, Lommy…"

Arya and the men chatted for a bit as Gendry got the two of them drinks.

"So, where're you from, if you don't mind me asking," Thoros questioned.

Arya laughed. "Umm…I'm from the North—Winterfell specifically."

"Really," Thoros said, as he intently stared at her. "I know this is a small world, but you wouldn't be Stark by chance?"

In surprise, Arya's eyebrows shot up. "Actually, it is. How did you know?"

"I knew your father," he explained. "Well, most people know of your dad, but he actually help me open this place." He gestured to the bar.

"Really?"

Thoros nodded his head. "Yep…that Ned Stark is a good man—of course, you know that already. Anyways, Arya's not a common name down here and you're accent is clearly Northern," he explained. "Besides, you definitely got the Stark look; I see your old man when I look at you."

Brightly, Arya smiled.

Gendry and Arya then went to play pool. They played against others, but there weren't any stakes. They lost more games than they won, but neither one seemed upset about it. Eventually, they played against each other. Arya was pretty good, but Gendry was better and they both knew it. Although the match up was intense, it was light and playful.

Arya moved around the table, and then squeezed between Gendry and the table to take her shot. Slowly, she bent over her as ass hit Gendry square in the crotch. Involuntarily, Gendry grabbed her hip and squeezed before he stepped to the side and gave her room.

"When then, fuck my ass and call me Sally," Beric said in disbelief. When Gendry first walked in with Arya, he didn't believe they were dating, but he'd been teasing Gendry since the younger man always talked about how he was too busy to date. And he was less interested in casual sex, but he was definitely fucking the Stark girl and they weren't even dating. Beric speculated that since they knew each other that may have been why Gendry was okay with it.

But, when did he lose his virginity? And how long had he been having sex?

All of the men who worked at BWB minus Gendry talked about getting ass all of the time even when he knew they weren't. But, Gendry was clearly having sex and was tightlipped as fuck about it. And he was fucking a Stark girl to top it all off.

Stark.

Beric figured that Gendry's secret keeping nature was what made him appealing, especially for a girl like her. She probably wanted a walk on the 'wild side' and to get involved with a bad boy. She was going to find out the hard way that Gendry was a good kid through and through.

Beric and Lommy joined the two at the pool table and asked if they could play. Beric as clearly the best player of the four, but Arya and Gendry were better than Lommy.

"So how does one of the princesses of Winterfell and a poor kid from Flea Bottom meet," he inquired. Arya glared at Beric for calling her a princess.

"Getting sent away from beating the living shit out of Joffrey Baratheon and his cronies," she answered.

Beric raised an eyebrow.

"That was you?" He smiled. "You're definitely good in my book based on that alone."

Neither Beric nor Lommy asked what why Arya beat his ass because, either way, it was a deserved ass beating.

"Yeah well, despite Joffrey starting the fight and all of the other shit he pulled, I was the one who got in trouble for it," Arya explained. "I was expelled, and then my parents sent my to a rehab camp—that's where I met Gendry."

Lommy frowned in confusion. "You went to a rehab camp…what the fuck is a rehab camp?"

Gendry sighed. "It's like a camp for troubled teens and adults that helps you find out why you have behavioral problems and how to manage your behavior." At Lommy's inevitable question, Gendry replied. "I never got into shit, but Tobho entered me in some voucher lottery and I won." He waved his hand to indicate that the rest was history. "The voucher program was just to provide opportunities for people like me—poor and shit with no opportunities or connections. That's where I met Hot Pie."

"Oh…" Lommy nodded that he understood.

"And you two became as thick as thieves," Beric concluded.

Arya gave a tightlipped smile. "Yep."

'Oh…they definitely hooked up during camp,' Beric thought.

After Gendry dropped Arya off at her room, she pulled him inside and asked him to stay.

"It's late," she stated. "Please…"

"Fine." Gendry took off his shirt and shorts and lay beside Arya in just his underwear. Contently, Arya snuggled into Gendry's arms and fell asleep instantly.

With friends like these, who needed girlfriends?


End file.
